West Midlands Police officer sentenced for hitting schoolboy in the face
A former West Midlands Police constable who struck a schoolboy in the face has been sentenced after admitting assault.
Sharanjit Kaur, who resigned from the force last month, was charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The 41-year-old appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court on Monday and was given a 12-month community order for assault by beating after changing her plea to guilty. She had initially denied the offence at a previous hearing.
Mobile footage of the incident on October 13 last year was circulated widely via social media, which led to a conduct referral to the IOPC from West Midlands Police, while a complaint was also made by the victim's family.
Magistrates were told that the now-former officer intervened during an altercation involving schoolboys in Great King Street North.
Evidence gathered by IOPC investigators indicated that PC Kaur, who was based at Newtown, pushed a boy away from the group, shouted at him “who the hell are you?” and then hit him in the face while holding a set of car keys.
The strike is believed to have caused a cut to the boy’s cheek and, when challenged by an onlooker, she identified herself as a police officer.
IOPC Regional Director Derrick Campbell said: “Police officers may only use force when it is necessary, proportionate, and reasonable in the circumstances.
"There was no policing purpose or any other justification for the officer to strike the boy, who posed no genuine risk to her.
“The victim’s age and vulnerability were clearly aggravating factors and then PC Kaur’s actions had the capacity to undermine public confidence in policing.
"She has quite rightly been held accountable.”
West Midlands Police said that now the criminal case has concluded, the force will hold a misconduct hearing for ex-PC Kaur after the IOPC investigation found she had a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to the force she used and other potential breaches of police standards for professional behaviour.
A spokesman for the IOPC said: "During our investigation our investigators interviewed the officer under criminal and misconduct caution.
"Mobile footage was reviewed and statements were taken from independent witnesses.
"At the conclusion of our investigation in March, (2023) we passed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charge."
