Police Acquitted of a Crime – Do I Have A Claim?

Last week I blogged about some of the many clients whom I have helped to successfully sue the Police after they were originally accused of assaulting or obstructing a Police Officer and first had to go through the trauma of a prosecution and threat of a custodial sentence.

My message was that whilst a “not guilty” verdict is an essential precursor, in such a scenario, to a claim against the Police, this does not, in itself, equate to a guarantee of victory in the civil courts, where the burden of proof is now upon the civilian as the Claimant, rather than the Police witnesses and Prosecution lawyers, and different legal tests and rules of evidence apply. I am an expert in helping people turn the ‘negative’ finding of “not guilty” in the criminal courts (negative in the sense that it is not actually a positive declaration of innocence, but rather a failure by the Prosecution to prove guilt “beyond reasonable doubt”) into a positive finding of liability in their favour in the civil courts – a declaration that personal rights have been infringed. 

The Burden & Standard of Proof 

The key legal principles to bear in mind in all of these cases are the following – 

• The Burden of Proof: The person who asserts something bears the burden of proving it. In the Criminal Courts, this is the Prosecutor on behalf of the Crown. In the Civil Courts it is the civilian Claimant, or in other words – Me on behalf of You.
• The Standard of Proof: In the Civil courts the standard you must reach is not proving something “beyond reasonable doubt” (as is the case in the Criminal courts) but only that it is more likely to have happened than not happened i.e “the balance of probabilities”. Scientific certainty is not required, and here legal battles can be won not necessarily in black and white, but shades of grey. 

What about when it is the Police Officer who has been Acquitted – of Assaulting You?

 I am also frequently consulted by people who have suffered injustice, not through being prosecuted themselves, but in seeing a Police Officer who assaulted them found “not guilty” by judges and juries in the Magistrates or Crown Courts. I am able to show my clients how the different legal tests applied by the civil courts can be used to deliver what this time would be a reverse, rather than ‘mirror’ outcome. 

The rarity of Officers being prosecuted for assaulting civilians in the course of their duties, is compounded by the frequency with which such prosecutions fail, aided and abetted by reluctant prosecutors (the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police are, of course, natural allies, not opponents), jurors mesmerized by “brass buttons”, and unsympathetic judges. 

The fact that an Officer has been found “not guilty” of criminally assaulting a person offers the Police no additional defence if that person then chooses to sue them. Whilst a criminal conviction carries probative weight in civil proceedings – the absence of a conviction does not, no matter with what plaudits a “cheerleading” judge in the criminal courts might have discharged a Defendant. A not guilty verdict leaves the underlying facts untouched, for fresh consideration and assessment in the civil courts – either way. 

Notable examples of my work in this type of case, include the following –

• My client Owen Andrews  Owen was one of those night- time revellers who all too frequently suffer contempt and violence from aggressive Officers hyped up on their own authority. Special Constable Gillon sprayed my client in the face with PAVA gas whilst Owen was lying helplessly on his back, and Merseyside Police Professional Standards charged their officer with common assault: but the Judge at Manchester Magistrates Court apparently saw things very differently, praising SC Gillon’s “reasonable and proportionate” use of force and criticizing my client’s “attitude towards authority” – words which stung Owen more deeply than the burning PAVA spray. Unfazed by these findings, I helped Owen win justice, including a formal apology and over £22,000 damages, in a civil claim.
• In the case of Shane Price, the Lincolnshire Police Inspector who assaulted my client, a man of Romany Gypsy heritage, in an apparent “road rage” attack was at first shielded and supported by his fellow officers and then, even when he was prosecuted because of the existence of independent video footage of the assault – had his naked aggression re- classified as “self- defence” by the presiding judge at Nottingham Magistrates Court. I took Shane’s case on and fought the Police almost all the way to a second, civil trial before they caved in and agreed to a £100,000 settlement. 
• My client Shaun Kennellywas a teenager when PC Copland drove his car over his head after a reckless pursuit. Copland was prosecuted, but the Judge at Leicester Crown Court found that “no jury, properly directed, could reach the conclusion that he was guilty of the offence [of dangerous driving].” So Copland had no case to answer in the Crown Court – but he did in the County Court, where I was able to secure a five- figure damages award for my client.
• The case of Scott Barratt is ongoing, but I have already succeeded in overturning a Lincolnshire Police Professional Standards Department attempt to exonerate PC Kirkwood, who had mistaken my entirely innocent client for a bicycle thief, forced him onto his hands and knees at taser point and then deliberately kicked him in the face (breaking Scott’s nose) with the words “Fucking bastard!”. In that case, the prosecution of PC Kirkwood had floundered long before the Crown Court Judge saluted the Jury’s “not guilty” verdict with his own declaration that it had been “simply unfair” to have “dragged” the poor Officer through the Courts – for the Crown Prosecution Service had chosen not to call my client, the victim, as a witness, in a bizarre act bordering on self- sabotage. Following the Officer’s criminal acquittal, Lincolnshire PSD produced a report which endorsed Kirkwood’s actions in similarly glowing terms – but I was able to persuade the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to intervene, and the Officer will now face a Gross Misconduct hearing.  

It can be hugely demoralising to see the officer who assaulted you walking free from court, his reputation apparently not just unblemished but burnished in the eyes of some – but that doesn’t have to be the end of the story; don’t let Judicial praise of the “not guilty” Officer be the final word. Let me show you how civil justice can be used to secure a fair outcome in the final analysis, and help restore your faith in our system.

My aim with this blog is to provide clarity, guidance, and reassurance to those who may feel powerless in the face of unlawful police conduct. If you’ve found this article useful, please consider leaving a 5 star review. Your support not only greatly encourages me to continue writing, but also helps ensure that others in need of specialist advice can find their way here. Every 5 star review makes a real difference. Thank you!