PC admits punching boy, 12

11:25am Thursday 17th July 2008

A POLICE officer from Northwich has admitted punching a 12-year-old boy in the face but says it was in self-defence.

Magistrates at Warrington heard PC Daniel Gaffney, of Withington Close, thought he was about to be attacked during a strip search of the boy who claimed to have a gun down his trousers.

The 30-year-old was putting the boy in a cell at Didsbury police station, in Manchester, on November 10 last year when the boy raised his arm at the officer.

Gaffney initially told bosses the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, fell and banged his face on a wall but later admitted punching the lad, who has nine convictions – seven for assault and two for affray.

The boy, now 13, was arrested at his care home in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, after drinking half a bottle of vodka with a friend and threatening staff with a fence post.

When at the police station he refused to hand over a cigarette lighter and started swearing and gesturing that the gun was a big one.

Footage was shown at the hearing on Tuesday, July 15, of a video interview with police taken several days after the alleged assault, which Gaffney denies.

In it, the boy, who is slim and under 5ft, bears a large black eye and tells the interviewing officer: “His hand connected with my nose and eye. It hurt, it hurt my nose and eye.

“My eye was bruised and I couldn't see out of it. The other one was OK.

“The back of my head had hit the wall and I had beeping in my ears.”

When the boy was taken to hospital, a custody sergeant thought he had a broken nose which ‘poured with blood’, while in interview with police professional standards, Gaffney said he had not seen so much blood since a paranoid schizophrenic cut his throat in the station toilets.

The defendant, who has been an emergency response officer for more than six years, did not handcuff the boy during the search. When asked if he thought the level of force was fair, he said he did not know how old the boy was.

He said: “I punched him once, I was afraid for myself. It was my first reaction.”

Jayne La Grua, prosecuting, said: “Effectively, the Crown’s case is this defendant lost his temper.”

A colleague of Gaffney told the court he has only ever known the defendant deal with suspects professionally.

The hearing was adjourned until July 25 at Runcorn Magistrates' Court when the defence will begin its case.