A WEST Mercia Police officer has been sentenced for assault.
PC Laura Lawson, aged 31, who had been based in Warwickshire since 2013, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court on Monday, October 29, to one count of common assault.
The following day, at the same court, she was sentenced to a three month custodial sentence suspended for 12 months, a three month curfew order and ordered to pay costs.
The court that on April 16, 2017, PC Lawson attended a disturbance in the area of Avocet Close, Rugby. During this incident, it was alleged the officer used disproportionate force against a 17-year-old boy and two others.
The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who conducted an investigation and subsequently referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service who authorised the summons against the officer.
Following the hearing, Assistant Chief Constable Martin Evans of West Mercia Police, said: “A serving police officer receiving a criminal conviction for assault brings discredit on the force and is completely unacceptable when we are responsible for protecting the public from harm.
“As soon as we became aware of the complaint, we referred it to the IOPC (then IPCC), who carried out a thorough investigation.”
PC Lawson resigned from the force following legal proceedings. The force will now determine whether the officer should face misconduct proceedings.
