The incident happened during an arrest in June 2019 but PC will not be told final sanction decision until next week.

PC Henry Green was attending a report of fraud and theft involving two men and a woman at a supermarket on Newland Avenue, Hull. He had arrested and handcuffed the woman and one of the men within the store.

While she was in handcuffs, the officer deployed a leg sweep resulting in her landing on the floor.

During the misconduct hearing, the force barrister suggested that the officer made a comment “you can stay there, sweetheart” and said that the officer had not adequately supported her fall.

PC Green then turned to one of the males, also in handcuffs, and struck him to the head with a further pair of metal handcuffs. The barrister representing the force maintained that the male was offering no resistance that would justify such a hit.

During a police interview following the incident, however, PC Green had said that the female had become aggressive – shouting, swearing and moving towards him. He said he had seconds to decide how to deal with the situation and claimed he held onto her until she touched the floor.

He also said he had believed the male was about to assault him due to his arm movements. He said he had already been assaulted by a male in handcuffs earlier that day.

He was removed from front line duties immediately after the incident. 

He was charged with two counts of common assault and subsequently found not guilty at York Magistrates Court in December 2021. 

Last week, however, a three day misconduct hearing found that his actions had amounted to gross misconduct and that he had used excessive force. 

The sanction decision of the misconduct panel will not be given until Monday 25 July. 

Head of PSD, Detective Superintendent Matt Baldwin, said: “We expect all of our officers and staff to always act with the utmost integrity and professionalism, only using force if absolutely necessary in their line of duty.

“Henry Green displayed an excessive use of force during this incident. The force used was unnecessary, disproportionate and unjustifiable. His actions and conduct that day were completely unacceptable and utterly discreditable, falling way below the standards we expect of our officers.

“He was removed from his role and duties where there would be contact with the public immediately after the incident and placed in a non-operational role, pending the criminal and internal investigation. His position in the Force will now be reconsidered until the Panel make a decision on the 25th July.

“We will not accept any officer or member of staff behaving in a way that fails to uphold or maintain their responsibility to serve and protect the public in the Humberside area. It is of paramount importance that we maintain the public’s trust and confidence by dealing with officers who behave in a way that undermines this.”