PC Daniel Rusling, a Wiltshire police officer, was sentenced on Tuesday to an eight-week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months and unpaid work after admitting to assaulting a 13-year-old boy who had sought help at Monkton Park police station. The incident occurred when the teenager and five other children, all in school uniform, arrived at the station after calling 999 to report being threatened by people in a car.
Details of the assault
According to a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), Rusling repeatedly swore at the boy and shoved him with both hands six times before pulling him by his clothing towards the exit. A clip showed Rusling telling the group: 'F*** out the way. All of you need to f*** off!' He also goaded the teenager into a fight, asking: 'Do you wanna get yourself nicked or do you want to go?' When asked why he was assaulting them, Rusling replied: 'This is private property, you d***head,' and added he 'didn't give a f***' the conversation was being recorded.
IOPC condemnation
Derrick Campbell, director of engagement at the IOPC, said that while Rusling was justified in trying to move the boy away from a police vehicle, his behaviour escalated into an 'unacceptable and a wholly disproportionate response'. Campbell stated: 'His [Rusling's] language, body language, and attitude were aggressive. The boy had said he was missing from home and showed he was wearing school uniform. He asked to be taken home, and from there, PC Rusling escalated the situation by placing his hands on him and there was no attempt by the officer to de-escalate the situation. The judge described it as persistent; it went on and on. It was not just a momentary loss of temper. These children had asked for help, but one ended up being assaulted, repeatedly sworn at, and told to get out of the way. The way he responded was totally inappropriate when dealing with a boy of that age and his actions will have damaged trust and confidence in policing.'
Police response and consequences
Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper emphasised that Rusling's actions 'are, in no way, representative of our organisation nor the vast majority of our officers, staff and volunteers who come to work every day with the sole intention of serving our communities.' Cooper added: 'We will continue to identify and remove from our organisation anyone with the attitude clearly demonstrated by Daniel Rusling. We will also continue to ensure we learn from such appalling matters and make our stance on them unequivocally clear to the rest of our organisation, our partners and our communities.' Rusling now faces a gross misconduct hearing at a later date. The teenager was not injured as a result of the attack.
