Officer who 'sat on fare dodger' cleared of assault

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Officer who 'sat on fare dodger' cleared of assault


Charlie Simkins had been swearing at train ticket inspectors prior to PC Schleich's intervention

A Royal Protection Unit police officer who sat on a fare dodger on board a train has been cleared of assault.

PC Mark Schleich, 51, had pushed abusive Charlie Simkins against a train window and sat on him, the court heard.

The 20-year-old had been swearing at train ticket inspectors before he tried to escape at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire on Sunday, 9 June 2013.

The jury at Luton Crown Court cleared PC Schleich of common assault and perverting the course of justice.

PC Schleich, from Church Langley, Essex, had been in plain clothes while on his way to work at Buckingham Palace when the ticket inspectors had asked him to help with an abusive passenger.


PC Mark Schleich had been on his way to Buckingham Palace

He said: "As I walked through I could hear a man shouting and swearing. I asked him to stop swearing at the ticket guy. He continued and I asked him again and said that people on the train wouldn't want to hear him swearing."

He said when Simkins suddenly got up to leave the train at Cheshunt, he had stopped him. "I was asked to act and I did. Once he had made the decision to get up there was no time to react," he said.

Simkins had eventually been taken off the train at Seven Sisters Road

In a statement, PC Schleich had said he had taken action after Simkins assaulted him.

Simkins admitted fare dodging and giving false details, but denied assault.

Prosecutor Patricia May said PC Schleich had claimed Simkins had thrown a punch at him. But after looking at CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) evidence, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the assault charge and instead charged PC Schleich.

PC Schleich had told the court he felt the level of force used was "appropriate," but said his statement had not been perfect.

Recorder Ian Gatt QC said the officer's "good character and reputation" remained in tact.

[TaplowGreen]

He looks like a bum.

[broadgage]

I am inclined to agree with verdict of the court.
If people break the law, whether by threatening behaviour or otherwise, they must accept that actions have consequences, including being arrested with a certain amount of force.
Provided that such force is not grossly disproportionate, it must be accepted as the consequence of breaking the law.

I see nothing grossly disproportionate in sitting on a suspect to prevent them lashing out or escaping.

[ChrisB]

"Statement not been perfect"....new one on me to admit lying on his statement though

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Recorder Ian Gatt QC said the officer's "good character and reputation" remained in tact.

... or, possibly, intact. 

[Phil]

I think that may have been a mistype for "remained in tatters"

[JayMac]

He looks like a bum.

I disagree. PC Schleich looks fine and upstanding to me. 

Seems to have been fault on both sides here. Archetypal mouthy fare dodger who admitted failing to show a ticket and compounded that with giving false details. Should have been a slam dunk RORA^▸ (Regulation of Railways Act 1889) prosecution. Unfortunately the police officer appears to have made some terminological inexactitudes in his statement.

[grahame]

PC Schleich looks fine and upstanding to me. 

Had he remained upstanding, that would have been fine.  Problem was, he sat down. On the other bloke.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Should have been a slam dunk RORA^▸ (Regulation of Railways Act 1889) prosecution.

RORA is the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 - I've now added it to our abbreviations page.