Cop broke kids teeth with truncheon
A police officer shattered a teenager’s teeth with a steel baton and then claimed the boy pressed charges because he was seeking compensation, a court heard.
PC Kieran Gell, 33, allegedly assaulted the 15-year-old while responding to a call about youths smoking cannabis in a caravan at Summerwood Road Estate in Isleworth, Middlesex.
The boy, who is now 18, said he was walking past the scene on his way to Tesco when PC Gell started ‘running aggressively’ towards him at around 7pm on 14 May 2013.
The terrified teenager fled and tried to buzz his way into a block of flats before PC Gell chased him down, shouting ‘stop you pr**k’, jurors heard.
Southwark Crown Court heard the officer swung his baton into the lad’s face, knocking two of his teeth out, fracturing two others, and leaving him requiring surgery to fix his upper jaw.
Gell denies assault and claims he hit the boy on the arm in self defence.
William Eaglestone, prosecuting, said: ‘On 14 May 2013 a 15-year-old boy had his front teeth knocked out.
‘We the Crown say that it happened because this defendant, who is a serving police officer, in fact knocked them out by hitting him in the face with his police baton.
‘The defendant Mr Gell says he doesn’t know how it happened because he did hit this boy, and he hit him lawfully exercising his proper police powers, but he hit him in the arm, because he thought that the 15-year-old boy was going to attack him.
‘We say this is an unlawful assault committed by Mr Gell.’
The alleged victim told jurors he had seen around eight teenagers wearing puffer jackets run away from the caravan before PC Gell, who stands over 6′, made a beeline for him.
Giving evidence from behind a screen, he said: ‘I saw a big guy coming running aggressively so I wasn’t waiting for nothing, because I saw the size of him and me and I knew I was in trouble.’
The 5’7″ teen said he thought he had lost PC Gell, but the officer soon tracked him down and lashed out.
‘He’s come round, he’s come round and that’s when he’s said, excuse my language, he said ‘you little pr–k’,’ he said.
‘Stop here you little pr–k and then he’s come and he’s swung his arm and he’s hit my face.’
He said he jogged away in a daze and hid in a bush before a friend took him to West Middlesex Hospital.
‘I can’t believe my teeth was smashed out, I just can’t believe it,’ he said.
‘I looked at a car and I looked in the car mirror.
‘I couldn’t see, there was too much blood… My lips were huge.’
Jennifer Dannhauser, defending, suggested the teenager had been in the caravan smoking cannabis and had fallen over and smashed his teeth when he ran away from PC Gell.
She said: ‘You have seen an opportunity in this to try and claim compensation.’
The boy, who was questioned on suspicion of causing criminal damage to the caravan but bever charged, replied: ‘My teeth got lost because of this officer, it’s not safe for this officer to be out on road.’
Gell, of Northolt, west London, denies one count of assault causing actual bodily harm,
The trial continues.
ends
