Ex-police officer charged with assault during arrest

A former Cambridgeshire Police officer has been charged with assault after allegedly striking and injuring a man during an arrest.

The officer was charged with a series of offences following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which stated the person could not be named for legal reasons.

The officer is due at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

The IOPC said a serving Cambridgeshire officer, Joshua Williams, 37, is also due before the same court charged with misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.

The IOPC said the unnamed former officer had been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.

This related to an incident where the accused allegedly struck and injured a man during an arrest, as well as his actions following the event.

The IOPC said the officer had also been charged with two counts of misconduct in public office.

These counts related to the officer's actions following the detention of a 17-year-old in custody including allegedly making and sharing a threatening video, and a separate incident where the officer allegedly requested personal and sensitive material from a colleague who had obtained the material from the phone of a member of the public without a policing purpose, the watchdog said.

The officer is also charged with two counts under the Data Protection Act relating to allegedly sharing personal and sensitive material about two individuals to a member of the public.

The IOPC said that allegations made against the serving officer, Mr Williams, related to him allegedly sharing personal and sensitive material obtained from the phone of a member of the public without a policing purpose and his actions following the incident.

The alleged offences took place between January 2020 and February 2023.

The IOPC said its investigation began in October 2022 and was carried out by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire's professional standards department under its direction and control.

In March 2024, the IOPC passed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised charges against both men.

Cambridgeshire Police declined to comment about the allegations to the Press Association.

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