Mum's concerns after policeman who attacked son, 16, kept job

A POLICE officer has kept his job after attacking a 16-year-old boy in custody.

- BY JAMIE GREER

PC Sam Clarke of Cheshire Police was found guilty of assault after a trial at Sefton Magistrates Court in September.

After the verdict, the teenager's mum said he is a "vulnerable child" with learning difficulties and ADHD who has been caught up in county lines, where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another.

When the incident took place, she said her son had been arrested for possession of a bladed article.

The mum claimed he was in a cell "posing no threat" at Runcorn Custody Suite on Manor Farm Road when he made a homophobic slur against the officer, which prompted PC Clarke to attack him.

She said: "My son had been sat in the holding cell inside, sat down, handcuffed, his hands were behind his back and there were three officers sitting outside the cell.

"He admits that one of the officers had said something to him so he called him a slur, he admits that he did that.

"Obviously he shouldn't have done that but then the officer had ran into the holding cell himself, threw him on the floor and smashed his head against the floor."

The mum felt her son, although not an "innocent child", had been failed by the police and other authorities.

PC Clarke's sentencing took place at the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre on October 29.

The Crown Prosecution Service said last month that he was given an 18-month community order, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to comply with a rehabilitation activity. Compensation was awarded to the victim in the sum of £300.