Press Realise from Metropolitan Police:
A serving Met officer who was found guilty of assault following an on duty incident in January 2020 has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.
PC Jack Wood, 26, was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating following a trial which began at Hendon Magistrates’ Court and concluded at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 14 May following a lengthy adjournment.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 3 June to be sentenced.
In addition to the suspended sentence, he was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a victim surcharge of £122.
On 5 January 2020, PC Wood was on duty in Romford when he responded to reports of a fight. During the incident, a 26-year-old man sustained lacerations to his head as a result of a baton strike.
A second man, also 26, was physically restrained.
The Met subsequently received a formal complaint about the force used by the officers. Following a review of the available evidence, it was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
In July 2020, following an IOPC investigation and a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service, PC Wood was charged.
Superintendent Jude Beehag-Fisher, said: “Our initial review of the evidence found that PC Wood used force that was excessive, resulting in an injury to a member of the public. It was right that the matter was passed to the IOPC. The outcome of the investigation that followed supported our initial findings and was again proven at trial.
“Officers know they have a responsibility to ensure that any use of force is reasonable, proportionate and lawful and those standards were not met in this incident.
“Misconduct proceedings will follow the conclusion of this criminal case.”
A former police officer, 27-year-old Archie Payne, was convicted of assault by beating following the same trial. He was sentenced immediately, receiving a fine of £600 and an order to pay costs of £1,000 in costs in addition to a £34 victim surcharge.
Former PC Payne resigned from the Met in November 2020.
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