A POLICE officer who punched a 12-year-old boy in the face while he was in custody, then lied about it, has been given a 12-week prison sentence.
Daniel Gaffney, 30, was told that he had abused his position of trust by hitting the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Passing sentence, District Judge Timothy Gascoigne, said: "You're a 30-year-old police officer, both taller and heavier than he was.
"This was a 12-year-old boy from a children's home who was clearly vulnerable and needed care and looking after."
And he told him: "You still don't seem to accept that you assaulted this boy, which concerns me."
Pc Gaffney, who had pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault, was convicted after a two-day trial at Warrington Magistrates' Court last month.
He will serve half the 12-week sentence in custody and half in the community, although his lawyers intend to lodge an appeal on his behalf.
Pc Gaffney, who has served with Greater Manchester Police for more than six years, also faces an internal disciplinary hearing and is almost certain to lose his job.
The officer, who lives in Northwich, had claimed that he acted in self-defence after the aggressive boy lunged at him in a detention cell at West Didsbury police station.
He admitted that he had struck the youngster a blow, which he considered to be `seven' in forcefulness on a scale of one to 10.
The boy, who is now 13, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose and was left with severe bruising to his nose and left eye.
He had been arrested affray by another officer after drinking half a bottle of vodka with another youngster, then threatening staff with fence posts.
The boy, who had seven previous convictions for assault, had continued to be abusive and aggressive while being taken to the police station.
He was taken to the custody cell to be strip-searched after claiming that he had a gun down his trousers.
Pc Gaffney claimed he had hit the boy because he believed he had been about to hit him in the cell, but the prosecution claimed he had simply lost his temper.
When other officers and a Police Federation representative spoke to him, he at first told them the youngster had tripped as he was being pushed into the cell and banged his head on the wall. He changed his story the following day.
Bernadette Baxter, defending, told the sentencing hearing at Runcorn Magistrates' Court: "He was somebody in a stressful job, in a stressful situation, who took a step too far and paid a very high price for it."
She said the incident had had a `catastrophic' effect on the officer, his wife and his family and he wanted, through her, to offer an apology to the boy.
She said Pc Gaffney fully accepted that he had lost a very great deal because of a `sudden and momentary loss of temper'.
What do you think? Have your say.
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He should have been given full backing.Not put in prision.The system stinks.
The Judge has re-inforced the message that troublesome kids can be abusive,gobby & downright anti-social and all we can do is give them a bit of a talking to..Justice my a**. I support this policeman he should be re-instated at once and promoted.
Joke. A fine and losing his job would have been reasonable.
The liitle boy with 7 previous convictions for assault etc will no doubt be sent on holiday and given go kart lessons and a chunk of public money for compo.
Poor mite.
How can the police do their job with judgements like this. These kids need a good clout. Don't tell me the authorities know what they are doing because this little **** has 12 convictions already. No wonder the UK is as screwed up as it is!
For heavens sake.........
Why not walk around with a banner !!
For all the youths of today who are commiting crimes and who are considering commiting any crime....
DO so. because..... you can !!
even if you are in custody, DO YOUR WORSE !!
The law is on YOUR side
What is THIS Country coming to ??
What amazes me is that these so called 12year old act like animals,and when they get caught they try and acy like little innocents.What a lousey legal system we have in britain when we send a police officer to jail for a trivial offence like this.I hope that the police go on strike and then the judge will se how these children behave .We need to slap more 12 year olds when they are out of control maybe then we will stop people being hurt by these ferule "children".
Vulnerable ??? The lad involved in this case got drunk, attacked his care supporters and abused the police...VULNERABLE ?? The District Judge ought to be ashamed of his comments which demonstrates the total incompetence of the judicial system in the UK...These young people are dealt with like little angels in Youth Courts..The officer made a serious mistake..he deserves to loose his job but prison?? If this vulnerable kid has all these convictions I wonder how many times he has been sent to prison? None !!!! Disgraceful..
It's a disgrace that a 12 year old should have a string of convictions for assault, be necking back vodka with impunity, and not been sorted out.
But it ain't right for a PC to be breaking a 12 year old's nose, and then lie about how it happened - no matter what a little thug he's dealing with - he deserves his sentence.
Screwed up Britain/chav 1-0 Commonsense...
This sentence is too harsh. I'm not advocating slapping children but because children have no discipline, this is why we have such a bad youth problem in this country. A warning would have been enough for this officer.
I think he was jailed for lying rather than slapping th child.
There are two issues here
why was this officer left to tend to this boy on his own in view of the boys history and the offence he had been arrested for.secondly the judge says he his concerned that the PC does not believe he as commited an offence . The reason for that is the judge does not live in the real world.
his sentence is 1/24 of what the guy got for running over the lad on ashton rd.
THE WORLD HAS GONE MENTAL!!!!!!!!!
Ridiculous verdict. This is the sort of policing the countrt is crying out for. A good thick ear for an obviously drunk and potentially violent thug. The government wont ask the public because they wont like the answer they will get.
About time somebody stood up to these teenage yobs. Sadly, the one who did is the one to be punished!
Bring back the good old/bad old days when the bobby on th beat would clip you around the ear if you stepped out of line.
What is this world coming too when an officer takes action to defend himself and then gets this treatment. I blame the nampy pamby political correctness in this country. Bring back the cane, bring back flogging, bring back corporal punishment, bring back the stocks even and the death sentance and then lets see these children buck up their ideas.
I do not agree with a lot of stupid comments on here. Thye police get paid to bring people to face justice. Just because they are the law, does not mean they are above it. There is a line you do not cross and this ex policeman crossed it. He had no right to be judge jury and executioner. Bearing in mind the BOY is only 12 and could quite easily turn his life around. Where as this is a grown man who should uphold the law but broke. What state would this country be in if the police regulary broke the law. This man in is job is expected to follow rules.He broke them. All you who say it is o.k. for a grown man to break a young 12 year old boys nose really need a reallity check. When he appeals I hope he gets his paltry sentence increased. Remember. Violence breeds violence.
Unbelievable!! Our judicial system is a total joke. This verdict sends out the worst possible message to the juvenilles who menace society on a daily basis.
Of course the officer was stupid to have lied about the incident, but a 12 week prision sentence is totally ridiculous.
12 WEEKS! How on earth can this be justified!? People who burgle your house or rob you get less than that! The police man deserved to lose his job, what he did was wrong (although somewhat understandable given the type of youth he was dealing with), and lying about it afterward is unforgivable, but prison!? No, I'm sorry, he should not have gone to prison for one mistake. And with all this media what will happen to him when the other inmates find out what he does for a living?! The criminal justice system is a joke!
What a joke. What planet are these judges on! Police officer or not if I thought someone had a gun and they were being agressive to me I would hit em!Disgracefull! Is this the state of our country. I am ashamed by be a part of this. How many people get jailed for burglary???hardly any!The boy deserved that and more
How about the M.E.N doing something useful like starting a campaign for the immediate release of this man.
The problem with judges these days is that they've been living in their ivory towers for too long.
Their sense of justice and idealism is flawed.
Let them live as a policeman for a month and i'm sure there attitudes would change.
He shouldn't of been jailed for this, nor should he lose his job. This teenager most probally deserved EVERYTHING which he got that night, ie the broken nose. I mean, this youngster wouldnt be jailed for hitting someone who is around 3 years of age he would be "cautioned" or something of the stupid sort.
Very difficult subject - no one should need to be struck but then the PC was dealing within someone that was unreasonable. Police men and women should be held in the highest regard and supported.
It is not a job I could do.
You have my respect, but your mistake was trying to conceal the event, understandable though considering the reponse from authority (what a joke).
Unfortunately your actions gave the legal system the "moral right" to lay down the law.
No real comfort but I would have done the same in your position.
Be strong.
as it seems to me kids now rule they have laws protecting them,but where are the laws protecting us,oops sorry social services and the pc brigade will be conplaining now.
but its true they are out of control and those people let it happen.
so what do you do nothing the law is on there side and when there old enough to be held for there crimes the courts do nothing asbos ,comunity work are badges of honour so they dont work well just have to suffer ,sadly as a kid in the eightes if i did wrong i got a smack or the belt and thinking on it it was wright.
i have no crimianal record
sadly many of my school friends have ,somtimes its the parents no mistake,but then where are the social workers ?.
they would say we have learnt from our mistakes but they havent got to live on any housing estate mainly council
and you will see the state of the problem .
and the police dont help they say they have higher prioretys, one pc stands up and says no you cant do that
and gets the the response you did wrong so if a kid or yob walks past me and pulls a knife and or hit s me i have to let him sorry aint going to happen some one hits me ile hit back they pull a knife i will wether a pc or a civilian we have the right to be protected from these people and as for the courts if they dont have the guts to deal these people they are just as bad i suggest this paper start s a campaighn to help save this mans job he did right .put the court s and social services in there place as police and see if they can hack it i think we know what would happen theyed be cry7ing in the corner im ashamed to be british what are we doing to our culture
Words fail me. British Justice and society stinks, the yobs have won. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.".. Alas to late, the scum have won...