PC sacked after telling teenager to ‘stop crying like a b****’ during arrest

A police force has been criticised by its own officers for releasing footage of a PC ‘behaving aggressively and using unreasonable force’ while arresting a teenage boy.

PC Lorne Castle was sacked for gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing held by Dorset Police following the incident in Bournemouth town centre on January 27, 2024.

The two-minute clip released on Tuesday shows the officer tackling the boy to the ground before taking hold of the teenager’s face and throat while repeatedly swearing and shouting at him.

He can be heard shouting and crying ‘what have I done’ and ‘what did I do’ before the officer shouts: ‘Stop screaming like a little b****, do you understand that? Shut up.’

The teenager also screams ‘my f****** neck, get off me, I don’t want you on me’, while PC Castle is on top of him.

The officer later shouts ‘Stop resisting or I’m gonna smash you, do you understand?’ and says the boy is being arrested on suspicion of assault.

In a statement, Dorset Police said they had chosen to release the body-worn video because of the ‘high level of public interest in the outcome of the misconduct hearing locally and to challenge misinformation’.

But the Dorset Police Federation said in a statement of their own the release ‘appears primarily to be an attempt by Dorset Police to manage some of the public criticism the force has received following the decision to dismiss the officer, rather than a genuine desire to properly inform the public’.

PC Castle previously admitted misconduct in relation to breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, conduct and use of force but denied gross misconduct, the force added.

However, an independent panel found that the breaches amounted to gross misconduct and PC Castle was dismissed without notice.

The video formed part of the evidence reviewed by the panel during the three-day hearing which concluded on May 29.

A knife was found around four-minutes into PC Castle’s interaction with the boy, after he had been put in handcuffs, Dorset Police said.

The force added that the officer had been responding to information that the teenager may have been involved in an earlier suspected assault, but at no time was there any suggestion that a knife had been used.

No further action was taken against the boy in relation to the reported assaults and he was issued with an out of court disposal for possessing the knife, according to police.

Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: ‘I understand the strength of feeling in this case and it is right to be open and transparent about what the independent panel saw, alongside other evidence and testimony.

‘We are sharing body worn video to address concerns about misinformation and to reassure the public that, while tackling crime in Dorset, our officers will continue to be proactive and robust – but by using their powers proportionately and with respect.

‘Tackling violence, knife crime and antisocial behaviour are absolutely our priorities.

‘At times our officers are required to use force to affect the arrest of suspects, prevent offences and protect the public, their colleagues and themselves.

‘I have the utmost respect for the vast majority of officers, who have to use force when making an arrest and do so appropriately and with professionalism, even when they are exposed to risk and violence.

‘They do a tough job and when their actions are proportionate, necessary and reasonable they will always be supported.’

In a statement Dorset Police Federation criticised Dorset Police’s decision to release the footage, saying the force had done so ‘without also providing context or balance’.

It continued: ‘The clip released by Dorset Police fails to show the double-bladed knife which falls from the clothing of the suspect at the end of the arrest and that potentially could have been used to inflict serious harm on the officer, the officers’ colleagues or a random member of the public.

‘It fails to mention the context that – in an early morning briefing – the officer was warned to be extra cautious due to a mass brawl in the town centre just two nights before, a brawl involving youths with machetes and knives, some of the offenders for which were still outstanding.’

The federation added that ‘many aspects of the arrest and the force used by the officer were deemed to have been justified, proportionate and reasonable by the independent panel’.

‘Our view is that the showing of selective clips of an officer’s body worn video is not a useful or responsible way to properly inform the public about an incident – and only serves to entice the public into making judgments without having the benefit of all the facts.

‘This is not fair or just.’

The formal written outcome of the hearing will be published at a later date.

PC Castle will also be placed on the police barred list, preventing him from holding any future role in policing.

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