Former Derbyshire cop convicted of assault after he pushed man into police van

A former Derbyshire police officer was convicted of assault after pushing a handcuffed man into a police van when he was investigating an incident.

Julian Scales’ policing career now lies in ruins after he pleaded guilty to common assault and was sentenced at Chesterfield Magistrates Court earlier this year.

On June 28,  a Derbyshire Constabulary misconduct hearing concluded that former constable Scales would have been dismissed without notice had he not resigned from the force before the hearing.

The one-day hearing was told that Scales, a “young serving” officer, attended a road accident with colleagues in the early hours of July 2 last year at Glebe Avenue in Pinxton, north Derbyshire.

While an investigation into the incident was taking place, a man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was seen shouting abusive words at police officers.

This continued and the police arrested the man on a public order offence and placed him in handcuffs with his hands tied to his back. The man was escorted to a nearby police van to be taken into custody.

However, it was heard that the man continued to shout abusive words to the officers, which led to Scales pushing the detainee into a police van where he fell onto the cage inside the vehicle. The assault happened while the man was handcuffed – meaning he was unable to resist the fall or “adequately protect himself”.

The detainee did not suffer serious injuries, but the hearing was told how the incident could have led to much worse if he had fallen a different way.  It was heard Scales’ use of force on that day “could not be justified”.

Derbyshire police Chief Constable Rachel Swann chaired the accelerated misconduct hearing. She said that Scales was convicted of assault at Chesterfield Magistrates Court on March 1 this year and she had viewed body-worn footage of the incident to help make her decision.

Chief Cons Swann said Scales’ actions and subsequent conviction amounted to gross misconduct as it breached professional codes of practice for police officers. The police chief added the fact that a Derbyshire police officer had been convicted of assault caused “significant harm” to public confidence within the force.

Scales was not in attendance during the hearing, nor did a legal representative for him attend. However, in communication with police Scales said that the incident was an “accident”. He initially pleaded not guilty at magistrates court but on the day of the trial pleaded guilty.

Scales was given a conditional discharge for two years and ordered to pay costs of more than £300 including £50 compensation to the victim.

Scales was also placed on the policing barred list following the misconduct hearing.