Police officers cleared of assault in Exeter
It follows a three day trial at Bristol Magistrates' Court
Two Devon and Cornwall Police officers have been found not guilty of assaulting a man in Exeter.
Police Constables Emmit Wookey, 30, and Liam Dunn, 28, had been charged with assault by beating but have been acquitted after a three-day trial at Bristol Magistrates’ Court.
The IOPC investigated an incident where officers stopped and searched a man on New North Road, near to the junction with Longbrook Street, in Exeter city centre in the early hours of Sunday 19 March 2023.
During the investigation, IOPC investigators interviewed the three officers who carried out the stop and search.
They also obtained witness statements from the complainant, from members of the public, and other police officers who had some involvement., and also reviewed police body worn video and CCTV which captured the interaction.
IOPC regional director David Ford said: “At the end of our investigation in September last year we referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service who decided to bring the charges of common assault. It was appropriate for the evidence from our investigation of force used against the man to be tested in court. The district judge has now found the two police officers not guilty.”
The IOPC will now be liaising with Devon and Cornwall Police over any potential disciplinary proceedings for officers arising from the incident.