An award winning police officer has been accused of grabbing a teenage suspect by the throat, called him a ‘b***h’ and threatening to ‘smash him up’.
Pc Lorne Castle is facing misconduct proceedings for allegedly making the 15-year-old boy feel ‘frightened and intimidated’ as he arrested him for an assault.
A hearing was told that the teenager had been wanted for assaulting members of the public and was carrying a knife at the time of his arrest.
The officer ran towards the masked teenager, known as Witness A, and pushed him against a wall before dragging him to the ground and sitting on him.
He then shouted at him to ‘show me your f*****g hands’ and then put his hands and finger in the hoodie-wearing teen’s face.
When Witness A was unable to move his arm Pc Castle told him to ‘stop screaming like a little b***h’ as he called for back-up on the radio.
He grabbed the boy by the throat and threatened to ‘smash up’ the boy if he resisted.
When his back-up arrived, he ordered colleagues to put the boy in leg restraints.
Witness A was left ‘petrified’ by PC Castle’s behaviour in Bournemouth, Dorset, at 5.30pm on January 27, 2024.
The officer is accused of committing gross misconduct in regards to authority, respect and courtesy and conduct and use of force and is facing a disciplinary hearing at Dorset Police HQ.
Pc Lorne Castle (left) received several national awards for his policework in the 10 years since he joined Dorset Police
He is accused of making a 15-year-old suspect feel ‘frightened and intimidated’ as he arrested him for an assault
Pc Castle (right) won an award for saving a person from drowning, as well as previously being named Neighbourhood Police Officer of the Year
The 46-year-old married father of two has twice won a national award since joining Dorset Police over 10 years ago
Last year he was awarded a National Humane Society gong for saving a person from drowning in the River Avon in Christchurch and had previously been awarded Neighbourhood Police Officer of the Year.
He accepts he committed misconduct but denies his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct as he said the boy had been arrested twice for assaults on unrelated people.
Pc Castle said the boy was wearing a face covering and at risk of escape as he had previously fled a Town Ranger.
Mark Ley-Morgan, representing the Dorset Police, said: ‘At about 5.30pm on January 27, 2024 in Bournemouth you arrested a 15 year-old boy, Witness A, on suspicion of assault.
‘You approached Witness A at speed and took hold of him before telling him what he was under arrest for.
‘You forced him to the ground and he was lying on his back with his face up.
‘You repeatedly stated to Witness A ‘show me your f*****g hands’. It should be clear to you he was frightened and intimidated by your actions.
‘It should have been clear to you when you were on top of him that he could not comply with your instructions.
‘When he replied that he couldn’t you grabbed hold of his back with your right hand and pointed to his face with your index finger and shouted ‘stop screaming like a little b***h, do you understand, shut up’.
‘Witness A asked you what he had done and you grabbed him by the throat then called for assistance and said on the radio he was behaving ‘like a b***h’.
‘You said ‘stop resisting or I’m going to smash you up’ then you put both hands on Witness A’s throat.
‘You put Witness A in a head lock and you told other officers to put him in leg restraints.’
In the footage the boy, who can’t be identified, can be heard pleading for Pc Castle to stop and repeatedly stating ‘I’ve done nothing wrong, I don’t deserve this’.
Mr Ley-Morgan told the hearing that in the days after the incident Pc Castle put in a report that he ‘completely stood by his actions and use of language’.
Pc Castle had said in his report that he had used the term ‘b***h’ and ‘smash you up’ as this was language he thought the boy would understand and he wanted to assert verbal dominance without having to use more physicality.
Pc Castle (right), pictured with his wife Denise, accepts he committed misconduct but denies his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct
Mark Ley-Morgan, representing the Dorset Police, said the alleged misconduct was ‘so serious dismissal would be justified’
But more recently Pc Castle had reflected on the incident and felt he had made ‘serious mistakes’ during the arrest which were borne out of anxiety at putting himself in danger.
However, Mr Ley-Morgan argued that this change of heart was a ‘cynical attempt by Pc Castle to garner sympathy’.
Mr Ley-Morgan told the hearing: ‘Looking at the video it is clear that you didn’t take Witness A to the ground because he was resisting.
‘He was taken completely by surprise when you smashed him up against the wall and took him to the floor.
‘It is clear from his reaction that Witness A was petrified of what the officer was doing to him.
‘No reasonable officer would have thought Witness A was attempting to escape or doing anything that could be described as aggressive or threatening.
‘Witness A was grabbed by the throat, had a finger jabbed in the face and his face slapped.
‘Pc Castle breached standards of professional behaviour by failing to act with self control and failing to treat him with courtesy or respect.
‘He abused his power and authority and his behaviour undermined confidence in the police.
‘It was totally unnecessary and disproportionate, and in our view this is so serious dismissal would be justified.’
Pc Susannah Justice was one of the other officers to attend the arrest and told the hearing the suspect was resisting their attempts to detain him.
But she said she was concerned about Pc Castle’s use of the word ‘b***h’ and ‘smash him up’.
The hearing continues.
