Wiltshire police sergeant jailed for attacking woman in cell (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)
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Wiltshire police sergeant jailed for attacking woman in cell
3:35pm Tuesday 7th September 2010 in
A Wiltshire police sergeant who injured a woman when he assaulted her in a cell was jailed for six months today.
Sgt Mark Andrews was caught on CCTV dragging Pamela Somerville, 59, across the floor of Melksham police station in Wiltshire before shoving her into the cell.
As soon as he was sentenced Andrews' defence team submitted papers for an appeal against the sentence.
Ms Somerville was arrested in July 2008 after being found asleep in her car. She was detained for failing to provide a sample for a breath test.
The CCTV footage shows her lying on the floor for a minute before struggling to get up with blood pouring from a head wound.
Former soldier Andrews was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm after a trial at Oxford Magistrates' Court in July.
The 37-year-old, who was suspended on full pay after his conviction, was sentenced today at the same court.
Ms Somerville was taken to Royal United Hospital in Bath and needed stitches in a gash above her eye.
Passing sentence, Deputy District Judge Peter Greenfield said Andrews had abused his position of trust and only a custodial sentence was appropriate.
He said: "In my view, you presided over an atmosphere of bullying and intimidation upon Ms Somerville which culminated in the cell later that morning."
The judge continued: "I regard that a gross breach of trust placed upon you by Ms Somerville.
"I consider that right thinking members of the public will be appalled and totally saddened by your actions as a police officer."
Balding Andrews, wearing a dark suit, was led from the court in handcuffs by two dock officers.
Jeremy Barton, defending Andrews, immediately submitted papers for an appeal.
The court heard that Andrews, who is married with children aged four and two, joined Wiltshire Police around eight years ago and was promoted to sergeant in 2005.
Prior to joining the police, he had spent around nine years in the Army, reaching the rank of sergeant.
Mr Barton, in mitigation, said Andrews was truly sorry for what happened to Ms Somerville.
"Right from the very outset, he's expressed sorrow for the injuries that she received while in his custody," Mr Barton told the court.
Mr Barton said Ms Somerville had been drinking and had sworn at police officers while in the police station, even telling one to "f*** off".
"This was someone in police custody, drunk and abusive, and it was for these reasons that control was required of her to place her in her cell, unlawfully as the court has found," he said.
He said alcohol must play some part in this.
The district judge accepted that Ms Somerville, who was described in court as slightly built, had been abusive but said she was "not lashing out or making threats".
Mr Barton said Andrews had already received death threats and the stress from the court case has put his family under great strain.
"He has received death online threats as to what would happen to him if he was to be imprisoned," he said.
"He has also received phone calls. To say he has been to the mill and back would be an understatement."
Comments(20)
Road Rage
says...
3:50pm Tue 7 Sep 10
Surely if this Copper is jailed (which I believe he should be) every little toe rag that attacks people in the street, causing far worse injuries should get the same punishment,
scoframatt
says...
4:02pm Tue 7 Sep 10
€d
says...
4:04pm Tue 7 Sep 10
Good job Judge Ambrose was dealing with the case otherwise he'd get off scott free.
themarkyofbath
says...
4:56pm Tue 7 Sep 10
Pamela Somerville is clearly not innocent in all this, she's been pulled in for falling asleep in her car. There's no reporting of why she refused to take a breath test, where her car was when discovered or why she kicked off in the police station to need manhandling at all. She fell to the floor and though he should have asked for more assistance getting her to her cell, she was obviously wanting to be dragged.
Clearly she knows the system and has played the force to its limits and although he has done wrong, she is clearly playing the media after dodgy loops in the system let her off.
The media has sensationalised this to hoodwink us into thinking the police are mindless thugs and although he deserves reprimanding there should more questions asked of her behaviour.
The Maxter
says...
5:29pm Tue 7 Sep 10
Bottom Of The Barrel
says...
7:34pm Tue 7 Sep 10
Lady Bayden-powell
says...
10:24pm Tue 7 Sep 10
pipe
says...
10:31pm Tue 7 Sep 10
He deserved a longer sentence, 12 - 18 months, unfortunately,magist
rates are limited in their length of sentencing.
Boiker Boy
says...
10:54pm Tue 7 Sep 10
-
Keep wiggling Melksham plod.
never2return
says...
2:48am Wed 8 Sep 10
mungus
says...
12:05pm Wed 8 Sep 10
Road Rage wrote:Surely the police are meant to be better than your common or garden "street yob" or "toe rag"? And surely police stations should not be places where people get physically abused in this way? I have no problem with him being held to account in this fashion.
Don't condone what he did in anyway, but if he had been just a street yob attacking some innocent passer by, would he have been sent down? No he would have got a slap on the wrist.
Surely if this Copper is jailed (which I believe he should be) every little toe rag that attacks people in the street, causing far worse injuries should get the same punishment,
New 2 Trow
says...
1:23pm Wed 8 Sep 10
'Doze item' as keyword WT- that a bit sarcastic isnt it?!!
Lady Bayden-powell
says...
3:59pm Wed 8 Sep 10
Additional information
says...
9:20pm Wed 8 Sep 10
Acts such as these normally get covered up and this is the function of the Professional Standards Dept (PSD) within each police force and it is their task to ¿play down¿ and ¿gloss over¿ the many complaints they receive and prevent them from being made public or being taken any further, such as a prosecution. They do a good job of protecting, defending and ¿sheltering¿ their officers who commit acts of misconduct and incompetence!
It is not surprising that so many complaints are now raised against the police. For information, in 2008 two complaints that were deemed upheld & substantiated were against the same officer within Thames Valley Police Force, DC Mark Torrington who is based in Banbury. The complaints were raised through the IPCC and after an investigation by the Thames Valley Police Professional Standards Dept (PSD) it was concluded that both complaints against were indeed upheld and substantiated.
The complaints were for ‘Improper Disclosure of Information’ and the investigation report details that DC Torrington disclosed personal & private information and data to the complainants employer on a regular basis and continually providing ‘updates’ therefore breaching the Data Protection Act 1998. Due to this breach Thames Valley Police have also been reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
The second complaint which was also concluded as being upheld & substantiated was for ‘Mishandling of Property’. This involved the same officer, DC Torrington giving away various personal possessions & items of the complainants property to an unauthorised person and also without permission or even recording it.
The investigation report details and concludes that DC Mark Torrington will receive Management Advice from the Area Commander as a result of his actions.
This officer should have been prosecuted in the same way as any member of the public would have been!
However this once again highlights the poor conduct of officers and the very low standard within Thames Valley Police which on many occasions just gets glossed over from the public. The actions of this officer are just one example of why Thames Valley Police have got such a poor reputation and proves that officers including DC Torrington obviously can not be trusted!!
The Maxter
says...
12:27pm Thu 9 Sep 10
If you must pedal your one dimensional view of the Police force over every news story in the country, why not try changing the text a little so that a simple cut and paste into google does not reveal your true motives.
Like all stories, this deserves balance. Its one thing (rightly in my opinion) to criticise this officers actions, yet we know full well in most circumstance the 'ordinary' public are the first to shout give the criminals a good slap when they're caught. we can't have it both ways.
Don Alfonso
says...
2:30pm Thu 9 Sep 10
Even upon conviction this thug in police clothing can only offer an apology for the injuries the woman received. He doesn't apologise for his brutish behaviour that led to those injuries. Perhaps he only wishes now he that he had left no marks.
The Maxter
says...
3:09pm Thu 9 Sep 10
DaveHegarty
says...
10:39am Fri 10 Sep 10
Don Alfonso wrote:Don,
Maxter said - "... yet we know full well in most circumstance the 'ordinary' public are the first to shout give the criminals a good slap when they're caught. we can't have it both ways." - Maybe so Maxter, but would you describe the victim in this instance a criminal? I certainly wouldn't.
Even upon conviction this thug in police clothing can only offer an apology for the injuries the woman received. He doesn't apologise for his brutish behaviour that led to those injuries. Perhaps he only wishes now he that he had left no marks.
You just need to consider what would have happened if she'd not bashed her head.
The article says that she had to go to the RUH to get stitches. I know that for a 'Failure to Provide' charge to stick, they need to be given opportunity to provide a breath sample in custody. (I'm a law graduate, just to explain I'm not basing this on assumption or sweeping statements)
If she's had to go to the RUH, she can't do that and she hasn't failed to provide because she's not been given the chance to at the station. Had she not had the head injury, it'd have been different and she'd have more likely have been charged. Of course, this is me reading between the lines, seeing as there's been no mention of her refusing breath tests in custody.
Other than my disagreement with her not being a criminal, or at least responsible for why she was in the custody unit in the first place, I do agree that the now ex-Sergeant Andrews was out of line, over the top, brutish and deserves what he has received.
NLM
says...
1:27pm Tue 21 Sep 10
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Local Bloke says...
3:44pm Tue 7 Sep 10
One rule for one ......
Still, he is now effectively unemployable having been sacked and he will at least lose all his pension. I suppose that is some justice, although not a lot considering.