A POLICE officer has been given a suspended jail term after being found guilty of assaulting a 17-year-old youth whilst on duty in Keighley.

Police were called to reports of a disturbance in the town on June 15 last year.

A 17-year-old male was handcuffed and placed in the rear cage of a police van.

After the cage doors were closed, he started banging his head.

Two officers opened the cage and tried to restrain him, and one was bitten during the incident.

After the cage doors were closed again, the male continued banging his head.

At this point, PC Jacob Swallow opened the van door and punched him in the face, causing his head to recoil backwards and bang against the back of the cage, resulting in a bleeding nose.

PC Swallow, 25, an officer based in the Bradford district, was found guilty at trial of one charge of common assault.

He was sentenced at York Magistrates Court yesterday to 22 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, and pay £200 in compensation and £940 in costs.

The suspended sentence means that if he fails to comply with the requirements or is convicted of another offence during that period, he is likely to serve the original custodial term as well as the sentence for any new offence.

Detective Chief Superintendent Nicola Bryar, head of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “The law recognises that there are situations where police officers may be required to use force. It is vital though that it is only used when reasonable, necessary and proportionate.

“In this incident, the victim was handcuffed and secured in a police vehicle. While the male was being aggressive both to himself and officers, this was no justification for punching him and the court has recognised the officer’s actions to be unlawful.

“This incident was captured on the officer’s body-worn video. This is there to protect both our officers and staff and the public. On this occasion it was a key piece of evidence used to convict PC Swallow. The force has mandated that all officers and staff on frontline duties will activate body-worn video when engaging their policing powers. The public should have confidence that this footage provides an ‘independent witness’ to interactions between the police and members of the public and that it is reviewed and acted on, as in this case.

“PC Swallow has been suspended from duty and now that this court case has concluded, we will move forward with misconduct proceedings.”