Police officer jailed after assaulting 13-year-old boy in Wiltshire

A police officer has been jailed after beating up a teenage boy asking for help while he was on duty.

PC Daniel Rusling assaulted his 13-year-old victim as he reported being threatened by people in a car in Wiltshire.

Rusling repeatedly swore at the young boy, who was in a group of six children who had presented at Monkton Park police station in school uniform after calling 999, when he asked for a lift home.

He shoved him with both hands six times before pulling him by his clothing towards the building’s exit, according to a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

A clip showed Rusling then telling the boys: ‘F*** out the way. All of you need to f*** off!’

At one point, Rusling appeared to goad the teenager into a fight, telling him: ‘Do you wanna get yourself nicked or do you want to go?’

When asked why he was assaulting them, the PC did not attempt to diffuse the situation, replying: ‘This is private property, you d***head.’

The officer added he ‘didn’t give a f***” the conversation was being recorded.

Derrick Campbell, director of engagement at the IOPC, said while Rusling was justified in trying to move the boy away from the police vehicle, his behaviour escalated into an ‘unacceptable and a wholly disproportionate response’.

He said: ‘His [Rusling’s] language, body language, and attitude were aggressive.

‘The boy had said he was missing from home and showed he was wearing school uniform. He asked to be taken home, and from there, PC Rusling escalated the situation by placing his hands on him and there was no attempt by the officer to de-escalate the situation.

‘The judge described it as persistent; it went on and on. It was not just a momentary loss of temper. These children had asked for help, but one ended up being assaulted, repeatedly sworn at, and told to get out of the way.

‘The way he responded was totally inappropriate when dealing with a boy of that age and his actions will have damaged trust and confidence in policing.’

Following an investigation by the watchdog, evidence was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Rusling was sentenced on Tuesday to an eight-week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months and an order requiring him to undertake unpaid work after admitting to a charge of assault by beating at Bristol Crown Court.

The teenager was not injured as a result of the attack.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: ‘I want to stress that his actions are, in no way, representative of our organisation nor the vast majority of our officers, staff and volunteers who come to work every day with the sole intention of serving our communities.

‘We will continue to identify and remove from our organisation anyone with the attitude clearly demonstrated by Daniel Rusling.

‘We will also continue to ensure we learn from such appalling matters and make our stance on them unequivocally clear to the rest of our organisation, our partners and our communities.’

Rusling now faces a gross misconduct hearing at a later date.