Officer who assaulted a member of the public at an off-duty event is dismissed

A police officer who assaulted a member of the public at a pub in Bristol during an off-duty social event has been dismissed without notice and placed on a national barred list following a misconduct hearing.

PC Jedd Perry, a student officer based in Bristol, physically assaulted a member of the public at a bar in Bristol city centre in August 2021, while he was off-duty and out with colleagues.

The member of the public did not want to make a formal complaint, but the incident was referred to Professional Standards by a supervisor, and an investigation was subsequently carried out by CID.

Evidence was gathered by CID officers and provided to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which concluded the evidential threshold had not been met for a charge of affray. Following this process, the statutory time-limit of six months for summary only offences had passed, which meant a lesser alternative charge of battery could not be brought.

A hearing panel, led by a Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) who is independent of policing, heard evidence about this incident, as well as a separate incident in which PC Perry told a colleague to ‘go back to their own country’, during a social event at his home, which had followed a night out with colleagues in August 2021.

The colleague who this comment was directed at later raised the incident with a line manager.

The panel found that gross misconduct was proven in relation to the assault, while misconduct was proven in relation to the discriminatory remark.

Earlier today (Friday 20 January), the officer was dismissed without notice and will now be placed on a national barred list, preventing him from working in policing and other law enforcement agencies again.

Supt Jane Wigmore, head of Professional Standards, said: “These are two incidents which happened when PC Perry was off-duty and at social events with colleagues. On both occasions he was intoxicated.

“Both incidents are highly concerning and indicate behaviours and attitudes which are absolutely not in keeping with the high standards expected of an officer who’s pledged to serve and protect the public.

“We’d like to thank the officers who reported incidents either to line managers or to Professional Standards. It’s imperative that officers and staff flag any incidents of concern they see or hear about, and we have confidential reporting systems in place to allow them to do just this.”

The full outcome will be posted on the misconduct hearings section of our website when it is available.