Police officer accused of stamping on a man’s head could be sacked

PC Cameron Lindley has been accused of using excessive force on the man while he was responding to a call for urgent assistance in Fullerton Street, Bradford in December 2021.

He has been charged with gross misconduct and will face a three-day disciplinary hearing, which is due to begin on Monday at the force’s headquarters in Wakefield.

According to the force, CCTV footage appears to show that PC Lindley brought his right boot down on the man’s head while he was being held with arms behind his back.

The man said he was left with bruises on his head and grazes on his face.

In a statement, the force said: “It is alleged that he (PC Lindley) did not act with self-control and tolerance, failed to treat members of the public with respect and courtesy and abused his powers.”

West Yorkshire Police also said he is accused of using force which was “not necessary, proportionate and reasonable” and may have “undermined public confidence in policing”.

If the allegation is proven at the disciplinary hearing the officer could be dismissed by the force.

It comes after North Yorkshire Police announced a “predatory” officer who strangled a woman, held a knife to her throat and threatened her eight-year-old son has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

At a recent disciplinary hearing, he was found to have been abusive and controlling while he was in relationships with three women between 1998 and 2017.

The officer, who denied wrongdoing, was told he would have been sacked by the force if he had not resigned shortly before the hearing.

Gerald Sydenham, the solicitor who chaired the hearing, barred the public from attending and decided the officer’s identity should be protected.

He was concerned the officer would struggle to cope if he was named because he “suffered from a mixed depressive and anxiety disorder" which is “sufficient to constitute a disability as defined by law”.