West Midlands Police officer dismissed over use of force on a football fan

A West Midlands Police (WMP) officer has been dismissed after allegations of using excessive force during the arrest of a man at a Walsall football match were proven.

At the conclusion of a four-day misconduct hearing held at the headquarters of West Midlands Police, a panel, chaired by an Assistant Chief Constable, found PC Richard Mannox, had breached policing standards of professional behaviour including use of force and discreditable conduct.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “Police professional standards state that officers should act with self-control and tolerance, treating members of the public with respect and courtesy. In this instance the evidence we gathered showed how the officer used a confrontational approach from the outset when he engaged with the football fan, speaking aggressively before swearing and threatening the man. This then quickly escalated to PC Mannox pushing the man and hitting him across the face.  

“Today, the panel has agreed that this use of force was not reasonable, proportionate or necessary in the circumstances and PC Mannox has now been barred from policing.

“Footage from the incident was widely circulated and hopefully this outcome will help to show that officers will be held to account for excessive force.”

Our investigation began when a complaint was referred to us by WMP in January 2024 after the complainant had been cleared by a court of assaulting police during a Walsall Football Club match against Barrow on 4 March 2023. The football supporter alleged that he had been punched and threatened by officers rather than it being the man who had assaulted the officers present.

As part of our enquiries we analysed the available BWV and CCTV footage, interviewed the complainant and the officers involved and obtained statements from several witnesses.

At the end our six-month investigation we found that PC Mannox had a case to answer for gross misconduct over his use of force and other alleged breaches of policing standards of professional behaviour.