A POLICE sergeant who restrained a teenager being held in custody for assaulting another officer has himself been reprimanded.
Despite a report claiming the officer acted by the book, the complaint against Sgt Steve Turner made by the 17-year-old, who had also sworn in front of officers, was upheld on grounds he used excessive force.
Th officer was even criticised for how he spoke to teenager Gerard Shannon, who had been drinking heavily and had spat and lashed out at his colleagues when they tried to arrest him.
The custody suite sergeant was also said to have used “excessive force” on Shannon when he became verbally abusive and swore at the officer while he was being held in Southampton’s custody cells.
The entire incident – which was captured on cameras and can be viewed on the Daily Echo website dailyecho.co.uk/video – shows Sgt Turner grabbing Shannon by the throat area and kneeing him before wrestling him on the floor to handcuff him.
Shannon, 17 at the time, was being held by police having been arrested the night before following an argument with his girlfriend on a Southampton city centre street where he was reported to be brandishing a knife.
When police arrived and attempted to restrain him he lashed out, spat at them and knocked one officer’s glasses off.
But Shannon, who was later convicted at court of assaulting an officer and given a referral order, made a complaint about the treatment he received while in police custody on the morning of June 27 last year.
He claimed he had been kneed in the genitals and grabbed in the throat by Sgt Turner.
He also complained he hadn’t been fed for 17 hours.
The matter sparked an internal investigation led by officers from the force Professional Standards Department who upheld both complaints – resulting in Sgt Turner and two detention officers receiving “management advice”.
A DVD of the incident, which happened in Southampton police station’s custody suite, shows how Shannon had been handed his phone to retrieve his mother’s phone number, but then refused to give it back.
He can then be heard goading Sgt Turner, saying “say please” and swearing when he was told he was not fit for interview because of the drink he had consumed the night before.
Sgt Turner,who was calling Shannon “little boy” can then be seen leaving his desk and coming towards Shannon where he pushed him against the desk, grabbed him under the chin and kneed him.
During the investigation, Sgt Turner maintained that he had gone towards Shannon to take him back to his holding cell.
He said he knew that Shannon had spat at officers the night before and didn’t want it to happen to him.
He also told investigators that he feared “aggressive” looking Shannon might use the phone as a weapon, adding that he was strong and holding his body stiff, making it impossible to move him.
Sgt Turner said he used a “knee strike” to enable him to get control of Shannon, using “all his force to drive into the front of Shannon’s leg” before he was held and handcuffed on the floor.
During the police inquiry into the incident a police public order training officer told investigators that Sgt Turner had followed the forces “public safety training manual”.
A report into the incident also concluded that: “Sgt Turner’s justification for his distraction strike was to gain control of Shannon and prevent Shannon injuring anyone.
“Sgt Turner believed with all his knowledge of Shannon that had he been given the opportunity Mr Shannon would have assaulted the officer.”
Despite that the internal investigation upheld the complaint that the officer had used excessive force.
Shannon, from Spring Road, Sholing, lodged his complaint six days after he was arrested, during which he had to be sprayed in the face with CS gas so police could handcuff him.
He also claimed that the officer who arrested him had used excessive force in spraying the gas too close to his face and had hit him three times on his back with a baton.
Both of those claims were not upheld.
A fourth complaint received from Shannon and his mother Katrina Shannon, which stated he had not been fed for 17 hours while in police custody, was upheld.
The detention officers who were in charge of supplying food and drink to prisoners have also received management advice.
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