‘Let down’ by verdict

PC Nigel Gallacher and his colleague PC Benjamin Schofield faced misconduct charges last week after Terrence Else was left scarred for life following the incident in a car park behind the After Dark nightclub in Dunstable back in 2009.

The H&P exclusively reported back in June that the Independent Police Complaints Commission upheld a complaint made by Mr Else’s mother after CCTV footage emerged showing the officers, who had been called to the Quadrant to deal with a separate altercation, arresting Mr Else on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly shortly after the nightclub closed at 5am.

Mr Else was seen being dragged to the floor by his arms and restrained by the officers while they waited for back-up in the form of five other officers.

He was left with a bleeding nose, cuts and bruises and later discovered that he had fractured his left clavicle, an injury which required a metal plate to be inserted into his shoulder and has left a six inch permanent scar.

Officers issued Mr Else, then aged 22, with a fixed penalty notice in the wake of his arrest, a fine that was later rescinded when contested in court.

But at a misconduct hearing held by the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Professional Standards Department the charges against PC Schofield were dropped and PC Gallacher was issued with a written warning after being found guilty of misconduct. He escaped a gross misconduct finding which would have cost him his job.

Sara Harding, solicitor in civil actions at Noble Solicitors who represented Mr Else, said: “Although the officer was given a formal written warning our client feels very strongly that he has been let down by the process.

“There is clear, incontrovertible CCTV evidence of what happened and our client believes that the officer has gotten away lightly.

“Our client now expects the Crown Prosecution Service to seriously consider bringing criminal charges against the officers involved for clearly breaking the law which they are sworn to uphold. Their actions seek to diminish public confidence in the police force.”