Policeman ‘sacked unfairly' after change in misconduct rules
Dorset Police provoked a backlash after dismissing police constable Lorne Castle for gross misconduct following a three-day hearing over the January 2024 incident.
The panel ruled that he had used unreasonable force during the arrest.
Footage released by the force shows the 46-year-old lawfully tackling the suspect, 15, to the ground in Bournemouth after detaining him for two assaults.
He then calls the boy 'b---h' and tells him to 'stop resisting or I'm going to smash you up'.
However, campaigners claimed Mr Castle was the victim of a 'witch hunt' and had been 'thrown under the bus' by Dorset Police.
Norman Brennan, a retired police officer and founder of the police wellbeing campaign group Protect the Protectors, said: 'Senior officers at Dorset Police have taken leave of their senses. This decision epitomises how they have lost touch with the danger and reality of front-line policing.'
A police source close to Mr Castle has now accused the police chiefs who chaired the misconduct hearing of not being 'legally qualified' to dismiss him.
In May 2024, new powers were given to chief constables to allow themselves, or other senior officers, to chair misconduct hearings.
Previously, the panels were chaired by independent lawyers known as legally qualified chairmen.
Instead, Mr Castle's misconduct hearing was presided over by Deborah Smith, an assistant chief constable from Wiltshire Police.
Legal advisers remain a part of hearings but are now known as a 'legally qualified person' who can provide independent legal advice in a supportive role.
The source told The Telegraph: 'These police chiefs aren't legally qualified chairmen. If it had been a legally qualified chairman, I think the outcome would have been different.
'Lorne's actions should never have been deemed to be gross misconduct.'
In the body-worn camera footage released by police, Mr Castle can be seen lawfully tackling a 15-year-old suspect to the ground.
Video shows Mr Castle sitting astride the boy and ordering him to 'get your f------ hands behind your back'. He places his hand on the suspect's face for a few seconds before calling him a 'b---h'.
He then tells him to 'stop resisting or I'm going to smash you up.'
Throughout the two-minute video, the boy can be heard yelling 'what have I done?' and 'I don't want you on me'. Moments later, a knife fell out of the boy's waistband.
At the time of the arrest, the youth was wanted in connection with an assault on an elderly member of the public on Bournemouth seafront and for being part of a gang attack at a McDonald's restaurant.
A large gang fight had occurred in the area a few days before the incident. Two potential suspects from the fight were still at large on the morning when Mr Castle went out on patrol with Pc Susannah Justice, and the shift had again been given a warning about the possible dangers from the outstanding offenders.
Mr Castle, a former martial arts instructor whose wife, Denise, is a world champion Muay Thai kickboxer, was encouraged to join the force after his effective work as a community safety patrol officer working in the Boscombe area.
In a decade as a Pc, he has twice been commended for saving the lives of members of the public. In one incident in 2023, he put his own safety at risk to rescue a woman from being swept away in a flooded river.
In 2021, Mr Castle was made Dorset Police's officer of the year for his 'outstanding service' and for undertaking every shift 'with the personal commitment to make a difference and do the right thing'.
The misconduct panel, led by ACC Smith, concluded he failed to act with self-control.
It said he did not treat the boy with courtesy or respect and that his 'shouting, swearing, finger pointing and taking hold of the boy's face suggested use of leg restraints was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate'.
The panel also concluded, however, he genuinely believed the 15-year-old, who was hooded and covering his face when Mr Castle spotted him walking along a city centre pavement with two associates, was a high-risk suspect.
The panel also accepted he genuinely thought the boy was resisting arrest and trying to break free and that these beliefs were reasonable.
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