Detective sacked by South Yorkshire Police over beating

A three-person panel found Det Con Chris Hanson beat Lee Stott while he was handcuffed and being restrained as he attempted to find out the location of a car the suspect had stolen the night before.

Hanson had described the allegation against him as a “complete lie”, while Stott told the hearing he was unsure whether he “might have dreamt” the incident at his flat on Brightmore Drive in Netherthorpe, Sheffield.

But the hearing was also told Stott, who later admitted the burglary, had injuries consistent with being hit with a shoe during the incident on August 30, 2014.

PCs Chris Cheung and Trevor Roberts were also dismissed for lying about the incident in their statements.

Neil Bowles, from South Yorkshire Police Federation, said the men – who all denied any wrongdoing – intend to appeal the panel’s findings.

“They are disgusted at the decision and disappointed –and they have got to face their families,” he said.

He said the appeal process is unlikely to be completed until next year. Mr Bowles said the CPS had already reviewed the case against the officers before the misconduct hearing and ruled there was insufficient evidence to proceed with criminal charges.

When the hearing in Chapeltown opened in June, CCTV footage was shown of officers kicking their way into Stott’s flat. The officers had said in their original statements that the door had been opened for them by Stott’s girlfriend, Gail Sykes.

DC Hanson admitted during the hearing he had forced entry into the flat but said he had not mentioned it in his statement as he did not consider it to be relevant to the burglary and theft allegations. He said he considered the entry to be lawful and came about due to ‘delaying tactics’ by Stott’s girlfriend in allowing officers into the flat and because they heard the ringing of a stolen iPhone that had been taken from the same house as the car the night before.

The officer said claims by Stott that he had ‘defensive’ injuries on his wrist due to being attacked were false. He said Stott had been rubbing his handcuffs together while speaking with officers. Stott pleaded guilty to burglary in February 2015 and is in prison.

A police spokesman said: “All three officers were dismissed. All of the allegations against them were found to be proven.”