Judge's sympathy for parents of cowardly teen who booted PC in the back

A balaclava-clad teenager with aspirations of joining the army kicked a police officer, stole thousands of pounds of vapes and tried to push a police van over. The 16-year-old from Knowsley joined the rioting mob in Liverpool city centre on August 3 and engaged in violent disorder over a period of around six hours.

Liverpool Youth Court heard today, Tuesday, September 17 that the defendant was on the Strand at around 3.20pm when a mob surrounded a lone police motorcyclist, named in court as PC Cumberlidge, who was attempting to help drivers navigate away from the disorder. However, the officer was knocked from his bike and was backing away from the approaching mob when the teenager ran behind him and kicked him the small of his back.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, ran away and re-entered the crowd. Angela Conlan, prosecuting, told the court that at around 4.30pm the defendant was caught on CCTV “gesturing people towards a police vehicle”.

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Video footage played in court showed a number of people attempting to push over the police carrier. Ms Conlan told the court the defendant, who was identified by his bright red t-shirt and black balaclava, stood on the bonnet of the vehicle and the windscreen was smashed. The defendant was next picked up on CCTV at around 6.50pm at the front of a large group of people throwing bricks towards a line of police officers on Whitechapel.

The court heard the teenager played a leading role, by smashing pavement slabs into smaller pieces before launching them towards the line of officers clad in riot gear. Ms Conlan then said the teenager was filmed running up Paradise Street where he and a number of others started targeting the windows of S&S News.

The prosecutor said the teenager was seen to pick up a Voi scooter before using it to smash the windows of the kiosk. The mob, with the teenager at the front, then enter the kiosk and stole around £4,000 worth of vapes.

The kiosk’s owner said there had also been nearly £600 in the till, but when he checked following the end of the disorder he only counted around £100. Ms Conlan told the court that during the group burglary members of the public including families with young children were close by.

The teenage defendant, who sat with his head bowed while the footage was played to the court, then kicked the shuttered windows of Clayton Square at around 8.35pm. Once they gained entry to Clayton Square, the mob targeted Abaarco Vape Kiosk, making off with around £15,000 worth of items.

The owner of the vape kiosk told the court it had taken him around 10 months to build up his business’ reputation. He added he had to close for eight days following the violent disorder and could only afford to replace around £5,000 of his missing stock. The teenager was arrested around 9pm wearing the same clothing and was in possession of a number of vapes.

During the court proceedings this morning, Ms Conlan read a victim impact statement on behalf of PC Cumberlidge. The 55-year-old officer, who served in the army on two tours of Northern Ireland during the late 1980s, said: “I was disgusted to see such violence in the city of Liverpool that was comparable to what I saw in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.”

The officer added: “I felt very angry by the whole incident. This group had utter and pure hatred towards me and I was very lucky to not be seriously injured.” He described the mob as “a pack of animals” and added: “To be repeatedly punched and kicked isn’t acceptable in a civilised society.”

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The teenager had previously pleaded guilty to a number of offences including violent disorder, criminal damage in respect of the police carrier, two counts of burglary in respect of S&S News and Abaarco Vape Kiosk and assaulting an emergency worker. In mitigation, defence solicitor Clare Roche told the court her client’s biggest mitigation was his early guilty plea and remorse for his actions.

She said: “This is something he has not taken lightly. Mum and dad were disgusted by his actions and mortified by the footage.” Ms Roche said that the teenager was “embarrassed and frustrated” by his conduct and had opened up to a police officer regarding his involvement following his no comment interview.

Ms Roche added: “There is no going back. He can’t fix his behaviour. He had no idea that on the day he went into the city centre there would be disorder. He has no idea what reason people were rioting.” Ms Roche said she had been told by the defendant that "the more he got involved, the more the adrenaline pumped and he couldn't stop himself".

She added the teenager, who "had always been the one at the back", had no explanation for what happened in the footage where he appeared at the front of the riot. Ms Roche said the teenager was “passionate to serve his country and be in the army”. She added: “He is mortified that he now won’t be able to.”

The court heard the teenager, who had recently failed an induction exam for the army due to a minor health condition, was devastated to learn the police officer he had assaulted was a former soldier. She called the teenager "the most polite young man I have come across in a long time in the court setting", and said following his arrest he has gone to college every day where he is now training to be a chef.

She added: "He has watched on the news the sentencing of adults and others. He knows these aren't being taken lightly. This is the biggest mistake he could make in his life but he is trying to put that right."

Sentencing, District Judge Wendy Lloyd told the teenager, who was supported in court by both of his parents: "None of this was pre-planned, but the reality is it took place over many hours. You could have walked away but you chose not to."

You told him he was "normally a law-abiding young person" but on this occasion encouraged others to engage in the disorder and carried out a "cowardly" attack on PC Cumberlidge. District Judge Lloyd sentenced the teenager, who wore a dark polo shirt in court, to a 12-month detention and training order.

The teenager will now be detained at a young offender institution and will have to carry out a number of training exercises. The judge said he would be released around half way through his sentence and monitored by the Youth Justice Service. The judge also enforced a three-year restraining order preventing the defendant from approaching the Abaarco Vape Kiosk.

The teenager, who had occasionally dabbed at his eyes with a tissue during proceedings, waved to his parents as he was led away by a custody officer. Following the sentencing, District Judge Lloyd addressed the boy's parents and said: "I'm sorry mum and dad, this must be a nightmare."