By David Furness
Dorset Police has dismissed a police officer for gross misconduct because of his ‘confrontational’ and ‘aggressive’ arrest of a knife-wielding teenager. The officer, PC Lorne Castle, who was entrusted with maintaining community safety, was found to have acted in a manner that left a teenager feeling ‘frightened and intimidated.’ A misconduct panel added that the police officer did not treat the 15-year-old with courtesy and respect. During the arrest, the teenager kept screaming that he had done nothing wrong, moments before a dangerous double-bladed knife fell out of his pocket.
There were compelling reasons to believe that the teenager had assaulted a pensioner and had been involved in violence at a fast-food restaurant. He had previously managed to evade capture before being arrested by PC Castle. Body-worn footage showed PC Castle instructing the teenager to “show me your f*****g hands and stop being a little b****” during the arrest. However, the video released by Dorset Police did not include the moment when the dangerous knife was first seen.
Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell defended the policeman’s sacking, stating that officers must use their powers “with respect“, adding that tackling violence and knife crime was a priority! However, an independent disciplinary panel concluded that PC Castle’s shouting and swearing were neither necessary nor proportionate.
The dismissed police officer stated that he was responding to an urgent call. He had been advised to exercise extra caution due to a previous mass brawl involving youths armed with machetes and knives, some of whom were still at large. This context sheds light on the officer’s state of mind during the arrest.
In recent years, residents of Bournemouth have been understandably worried about the rising number of tragic fatal incidents involving knives. Senior leaders in Dorset Police have urged officers to take decisive action to address this issue. However, when one police officer did take decisive action, he was subsequently dismissed.
The panel concluded that while tackling the suspect to the ground was reasonable and proportionate, the officer’s language amounted to unnecessary force.
So, the woke misconduct panel, led by Wiltshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Deborah Smith, found the award-winning policeman guilty of gross misconduct for using unsavoury words. The panel’s decision to dismiss the officer was praised by the Deputy Chief Constable of the woke Dorset Police, Rachel Farrell, who was appointed by Chief Constable Amanda Pearson.
Join us!
Click here to join us as a member.
Or sign up for our free email newsletter at the bottom of the page.
Follow us and share our content on these social media platforms using the links below:
X (formerly known as Twitter): @BritishDems
No Comments