A Met Police officer facing allegations he assaulted a teenager was “gobsmacked” after the boy called him a “fat arse”, a misconduct hearing has heard.
Pc Stephen Evans allegedly assaulted the then-13-year-old on November 4 2022, after a disagreement during which the boy said “have a nice life, fat arse”, the misconduct panel was told.
Pc Evans, who is based within the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Team and has previously worked at Downing Street, has denied the allegations.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons and was referred to as Witness A, told a previous hearing that the officer had taken him “by the throat” and “thrown” him on to his back on a concrete driveway, which had hurt the back of his head.
Pc Stephen Evans (centre) has worked in the police force for more than 20 years (Ben Whitley/PA)
Giving evidence to a hearing in west London on Thursday, Pc Evans said he was “completely shocked” at what the teenager had said to him.
Recounting the incident, he said: “I grabbed him and said ‘You can’t say that to me, what have you done’, and I pointed at him.”
Pc Evans told the hearing he grabbed the boy by the lapels of his coat, rather than his throat.
Ashraf Khan, representing Pc Evans, asked: “Emotionally, how were you feeling?”
“I was gobsmacked,” the officer replied.
Asked whether he had grabbed the teenager by the throat and pushed him, the officer said he “couldn’t” do this as it was a cold November day and the boy was wearing a big coat with large lapels.
Thom Dyke, a barrister representing the Metropolitan Police, asked: “Would you accept it’s part of a police officer’s role to be able to turn the other cheek and to be a professional in those situations and not overreact?”
Pc Evans replied: “Yes, you don’t want to overreact, you might want to advise but not overreact.”
Mr Dyke continued: “I’m going to suggest the reason you grabbed him was because you lost your temper.”
“I was angry, I didn’t lose my temper,” the officer replied.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Witness A said: “He stood over me and leant down and was yelling at me for calling him a fat arse.”
The witness said that when he was on the ground, Pc Evans poked him “hard” with his finger about four or five times, which the officer has denied.
The hearing previously heard the incident lasted about 10 minutes and resulted in “no visible injuries” to the teenager.
If the panel finds the allegations to be true, Pc Evans will be found in breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour.
The conduct would amount to gross misconduct and could justify his dismissal, the Met Police said.
The panel heard Pc Evans has worked in the police force for 24 years and that his disciplinary record for his entire career was “clear”.
The hearing continues.