My client Rick was an inmate at HMP Nottingham when he suffered a vicious and unprovoked assault from three Prison Officers.
Rick was unhappy about a decision to transfer him to another Prison and when four Prison Officers entered his cell and started collected his belongings, he verbally protested about the transfer.
At that point, Prison Officer A grabbed Rick by the head and pulled him downwards. When Rick reacted to this by pulling away and straightening up, Prison Officer B stepped forward and punched my client twice in the head. In self-defence, Rick lashed out and struck Officer B himself in the face.
Prison Officer C then grabbed hold of Rick from behind, and as Rick struggled against his grasp, Officer B threw a further punch at Rick – but in fact missed, and instead struck Officer C in the face.
All of this was witnessed by the fourth Prison Guard, Prison Officer D, who did nothing to protest or intervene on my client’s behalf.
Considerably distressed and alarmed by what was being done to him, Rick sat down on the bed and said that he would now agree to the transfer and would leave the cell. Nevertheless, Officers A and B then took hold of Rick’s arms and Rick felt Officer B applying pressure to his left hand, causing him significant pain and discomfort.
Officer B then shifted his application of force to Rick’s right thumb, again causing him significant pain.
The Prison Officers then handcuffed Rick, with his hands behind his back, and then – appallingly – continued their assault.
With Rick now helplessly handcuffed, Prison Officer B struck Rick in the head several times before twisting his head and pressing a knuckle into each of Rick’s temples in turn, causing him further pain.
Rick was then dragged to the ground by the Officers and his forehead scraped the floor.
Officer B then lifted Rick up by the handcuffs, pulled Rick’s vest up and used what appeared to be his keys to scratch the bottom of Rick’s back, causing cuts and scratches.
Rick was then pulled to his feet, although pressure was applied to keep him bent over with his head downwards, and he was marched out of the cell. By this time, he was bleeding from a cut above his right eye.
After briefly seeing a healthcare nurse – who deemed him ‘fit for transfer’ – Rick was placed into a van and transported to the other Prison.
I subsequently obtained Rick’s medical records from the other Prison (HMP Stocken) which showed that on his arrival that day he had a laceration to his right eyebrow, a red mark on his forehead, swelling to his right temple, red marks on both of his wrists, swelling to the back of his left hand and several scratches on his lower back – consistent with his account of the violence he had suffered.
However, the four Prison Officers who had been present in his cell at HMP Nottingham subsequently made witness statements in which they falsely alleged that Rick was the aggressor and that it was Rick who had punched Officer C in the face, breaking his nose. In fact, Officer C’s nose had been injured when Officer B, attempting to hit Rick, had missed and struck his colleague.
As a result of these false accusations, Rick was charged with causing Actual Bodily Harm to Officer C, contrary to Section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and was convicted of this offence at a Magistrates Court Trial at which all four Prison Officers gave false testimony against him.
Rick subsequently lodged an Appeal and at the Crown Court, and on the day of the Appeal Hearing it was revealed to him by his barrister that at least two of the Officers involved in this incident had been recently suspended on suspicion of assaulting other prison inmates. In the circumstances, the Crown Prosecution Service no longer chose to oppose Rick’s appeal and the wrongful conviction against him was quashed.
The four Prison Officers involved were all subsequently interviewed by the Police on suspicion of assaulting Rick and perverting the course of justice (in regards to the statements they had made which had led to Rick’s wrongful conviction).
Sadly, possibly because of bias against Rick as a person with a criminal record and a history as a Prison inmate, he did not get the result he deserved from the Criminal Justice System as despite a lengthy Police investigation. None of the Prison Officers involved were ever prosecuted for the assault they had perpetrated upon Rick – although they were subject to disciplinary investigations which led to all bar one of them leaving the Prison Service.
However, I was nevertheless able to bring successful County Court proceedings against the Ministry of Justice (who were responsible for the actions of the Prison Officers) and won a substantial settlement of £20,816 plus legal costs for Rick.
Personal details have been anonymised.
