Public Money Well Spent?
A police officer who was jailed for assault after being caught on CCTV throwing a 57-year-old woman into a cell is back on full pay.
Sgt Mark Andrews, 37, was filmed dragging Pamela Somerville through Melksham police station in Wiltshire - she cut her eye as the police officer pushed her violently to the floor .
The officer was jailed for six months - but freed on bail on Monday pending an appeal.
But papers released by Wiltshire Police Authority reveal he is "on full pay while suspended, pending the outcome of a conduct hearing".
Chief Constable Brian Moore said: "For this period Wiltshire Police have invoked Home Office Circular 8/07, which allows for the force to withdraw his salary on the grounds he was serving a custodial sentence further to conviction".
"Further to his successful bail application on 13 September 2010, the required conditions in relation to this provision were removed and Sgt Andrews returned to the status of being suspended on full pay."
The original incident took place in 2008 - and presumably the police officer has been suspended on full pay all that time - while his case came to court.
But if the rationale for keeping the officer on full pay was that he 'was innocent until proven guilty' - then the court has since decided that he is guilty as charged - because he was given a custodial sentence and packed off to jail.
He may well have appealed - but that is beside the point - the officer is now 'guilty until proven innocent' by his appeal - so it is the height of nonsense for him still to be in receipt of full pay.
The Police Federation said it fully supported the force's decision to resume paying Andrews during his period of suspension - which was a practice in line with many other professions.
But that says it all really - by any measure of common sense - the Police Federation is simply wrong.
Sgt Mark Andrews, 37, was filmed dragging Pamela Somerville through Melksham police station in Wiltshire - she cut her eye as the police officer pushed her violently to the floor .
The officer was jailed for six months - but freed on bail on Monday pending an appeal.
But papers released by Wiltshire Police Authority reveal he is "on full pay while suspended, pending the outcome of a conduct hearing".
Chief Constable Brian Moore said: "For this period Wiltshire Police have invoked Home Office Circular 8/07, which allows for the force to withdraw his salary on the grounds he was serving a custodial sentence further to conviction".
"Further to his successful bail application on 13 September 2010, the required conditions in relation to this provision were removed and Sgt Andrews returned to the status of being suspended on full pay."
The original incident took place in 2008 - and presumably the police officer has been suspended on full pay all that time - while his case came to court.
But if the rationale for keeping the officer on full pay was that he 'was innocent until proven guilty' - then the court has since decided that he is guilty as charged - because he was given a custodial sentence and packed off to jail.
He may well have appealed - but that is beside the point - the officer is now 'guilty until proven innocent' by his appeal - so it is the height of nonsense for him still to be in receipt of full pay.
The Police Federation said it fully supported the force's decision to resume paying Andrews during his period of suspension - which was a practice in line with many other professions.
But that says it all really - by any measure of common sense - the Police Federation is simply wrong.
