A police officer allegedly failed to investigate two assaults in Bristol and made “dishonest or misleading accounts” on Avon & Somerset Constabulary’s records, a misconduct hearing was told. PC Rose Wilson, based in South Gloucestershire, was also “patronising, rude or impolite to members of the public and failed to deal adequately with their complaints”, barrister Matt Holdcroft, representing the force, told the panel.
The officer failed to accurately record the complaints, made inaccurate records, did not obtain written statements or relevant evidence and failed to upload body-worn video despite being told to do so by her sergeant, it was alleged. The two unrelated incidents took place at addresses in Horfield on July 29 and September 26, 2022.
On both occasions, PC Wilson was dispatched to the scene with a colleague following a 999 call reporting an assault. The first incident involved an altercation in a long-running neighbourly dispute where a woman had allegedly shouted abuse, soaked a male and a female who lived next door with a hosepipe and threatened them.
She punched the man twice in the face when he grabbed her wrist to stop her and twisted her arm behind her back, the hearing at police headquarters in Portishead was told on Tuesday, September 24. The man did not want to press charges but the woman made the counter-allegation of being assaulted by him during the fracas.
However, Mr Holdcroft told the panel: “The officer attempted to minimise the matter, describing it as a ‘bit of to and fro’. The officer interrupted [the woman] and spoke over her.
“She was dismissive. She upset her and then told her not to raise her voice. The officer suggested that [the woman] should take responsibility for the incident as she had put herself in a situation where she knew that things were going to escalate.”
Sign up to receive daily news updates and breaking news alerts straight to your inbox for free here.
Despite the woman showing PC Wilson her arm to indicate red marks from being grabbed, PC Wilson did not examine or take photos of it and she failed to ask if there were any other witnesses, Mr Holdcroft said. The officer also failed to keep or upload her notes from the scene or undertake any door-to-door enquiries, he said.
Mr Holdcroft said: “The officer was plainly keen to leave and to draw a line under the matter.” He told the panel that the constable created an incident report with no mention of the woman’s counter-allegation of assault.
When one of the householders subsequently reported that the incident amounted to harassment and a public order offence, PC Wilson recorded on the police system that the altercation had been dealt with on the day. But her sergeant disagreed and told her action was needed to resolve the ongoing dispute.
The woman who used the hosepipe later made a formal complaint of assault, but PC Wilson again dismissed it as a “counter-allegation which was dealt with at the time”, it was said. She then emailed her sergeant to say the woman had been unwilling to talk to her on the day, adding: “Due to both parties not willing to [provide] support for the assaults we have no evidence.”
Over a week after the incident her sergeant instructed her to upload her body-worn video as evidence, which she had still not done. Mr Holdcroft told the hearing: “Despite these messages, the officer failed to upload her body-worn video.”
Bristol Live WhatsApp Breaking News and Top Stories
Join Bristol Live’s WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone
Bristol Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the latest breaking news, top stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The second incident followed a 999 call from a dad who said his children had been bullied that day and that his wife had taken a mobile phone from a child who had been filming it. The child’s father had gone around to the man’s house to get it back and punched him several times in the face, leaving him bleeding, according to the incident log.
The victim told PC Wilson that he had been assaulted but she told him the only offence that had been committed was taking the child’s phone. Mr Holdcroft said: “The male had been clear that he wanted to make a complaint of assault and for that to be investigated and that he wanted the officer to return after she had spoken to the male that had assaulted him. The officer did not return to the male’s address.”
In an incident record, PC Wilson wrote: “No complaint was made by either parties in relation to the theft of the mobile phone and the minor assault to retrieve it.” Three weeks later the assault victim phoned the police to ask when officers would take his statement because he wanted the attacker prosecuted.
PC Wilson denies misconduct. The hearing continues.