A GARDENER who risked financial ruin in a seven-year, single-handed legal fight against two police officers who attacked him has won his case.

Simon Allen, 44, claimed he had been beaten-up at Hall Lane police station in Wythenshawe in 1998 and that officers then trumped up an assault charge against him.

The father-of-five was refused legal aid and could not find a solicitor to take up his claims of assault and malicious prosecution against Greater Manchester Police.

But Mr Allen, who left Poundswick High School in Wythenshawe with no qualifications, was determined that justice should be done - and risked all his savings to representing himself in a private prosecution.

Argue

He studied the witness statements and stood before a judge and jury in a civil hearing at Manchester Crown Court to argue his case against a barrister representing GMP.

Mr Allen has now been awarded £14,613 in damages and costs after the jury found in his favour at the end of a five-day hearing.

Speaking after his remarkable courtroom victory, he called for the two officers who beat him up to be sacked from the force.

"The position the police hold should never be abused," he said. "They shouldn't be in the job."

His legal nightmare began when he was arrested in December 1998 on suspicion of harassing his former wife and was taken to Hall Lane police station in Wythenshawe.

The court heard one of the officers on duty, Sgt David Crompton-Guard, jumped over a custody counter and grabbed Mr Allen in a headlock.

Dragged

Mr Allen’s head was banged against the counter and he was dragged along the floor into a cell, the jury was told.

After Mr Allen protested for 10 or 20 minutes, Sgt Crompton-Guard and a second officer, PC Andrew Harrison, carried out another attack, the court heard.

Sgt Crompton-Guard said: “I’m not a woman – have a go at me” and then banged Mr Allen’s head against the cell wall, while Pc Harrison kicked or punched him in the body.

Mr Allen suffered a bruised cheek-bone, a cut to the head and grazing that took six weeks to recover. The cell walls and floors were smeared in blood, the court heard.

Mr Allen made an immediate complaint on the night of the attack, but his claims were rejected by GMP’s discipline and complaints department and also the Independent Police Complaints Authority.

Instead, he found himself facing charges of assaulting PC Harrison and causing criminal damage by ripping the policeman’s shirt, as well as the separate charge of harassing his former wife. Mr Allen was found not guilty by a jury on the harassment charge in July 1999 and the police assault charge was withdrawn in September 1999 after the prosecution offered no evidence when it emerged that custody records had been altered.

He decided to take legal action against the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, claiming malicious prosecution and assault.

A legal firm in Wythenshawe examined his case but decided that he was unlikely to win the case and they would not represent him.

So Mr Allen decided to bring the private prosecution without legal representation and last week argued the case in a civil hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

He said: “I didn’t study any law, but just went through the witness statements line by line to find all the points where the evidence was different.

“It was just common sense really.

Malicious

The jury of three men and five women unanimously found in his favour, saying they were satisfied Mr Allen had probably been assaulted in the police station and that a malicious prosecution – one that the officers knew was not true – was then probably brought against him.

The police conceded changes had been made to the custody record, but insisted they had been made for entirely innocent reasons.

The force argued in court that the officers had merely tried to restrain Mr Allen, who was a “man possessed” and was hurting himself by banging his head against the cell walls.

The jury awarded Mr Allen a total of £14,613 in damages and costs.

General damages of £1,200 were awarded for the assault and £3,750 for the malicious prosecution. A further £9,000 in “exemplary” damages was awarded, along with interest.

If he had lost the case, Mr Allen would have faced paying the GMP legal costs for the hearing, estimated at £23,000.
Mr Allen, who has left his home in Wythenshawe to start a new life in Hereford, said he hoped his legal victory would inspire others to persevere in cases of police abuse.

Greater Manchester Police said: “A complaint was made to GMP’s Discipline and Complaints branch at the time of the allegations. The complaint was investigated under the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority but was found to be unsubstantiated. GMP will not be taking any further action in relation to this case.”