Police officer accused of giving student protester brain injury cleared of misconduct

A police officer accused of leaving a student protester with a brain injury after hitting him in the head with a baton has been cleared of misconduct.

Mark Alston denied striking Alfie Meadows in 2010 during a demonstration against government plans to triple tuition fees.

Mr Meadows, then 20, needed emergency brain surgery after being injured while in the police “kettle” in London.

A three-person disciplinary panel concluded that Mr Meadows had been struck in the head with a police baton, but that it was wielded by an unidentified Metropolitan Police officer and not DC Alston.

Nev Kemp, chair of the panel and Surrey Police temporary deputy chief constable, said panel members relied primarily on video footage given the danger of “subjective” witness evidence nine years after the incident.

"Mr Meadows was struck by a police baton to the head, but that strike was performed by the unidentified Metropolitan Police officer, and not DC Alston," he concluded.

“It is not for us to consider whether that officer was justified in his actions.”

Mr Kemp said DC Alston, who held the rank of PC at the time of the incident, had made four rapid, overhead baton strikes down towards protesters, in a way that the hearing was told violates training.

However, Mr Kemp said the actions had been "an instinctive reaction to the surge of the crowd, which he was tasked with holding back, in order to protect himself and his colleagues".

DC Alston, who sat with his head in his hands as the verdict was read in front of Mr Meadows, his friends and supporters, was cleared of two counts of misconduct.

Giving evidence to the hearing, Mr Meadows described seeing a police officer “thrashing around with his baton” before swinging it down from above his head.

“It was coming straight towards my head and I instinctively spun around and I was then hit on the head by the baton,” Mr Meadows said.

The student, now 29, described having felt “excruciating pain” as he pushed back through the crowd to escape.

Mr Meadows left the protest after being checked by a paramedic, but his condition deteriorated and he went to hospital with his mother, where he underwent emergency surgery for bleeding on the brain.

The student was in hospital for several days before being sent home to recover for months, forcing him to delay his studies at Middlesex University.

He needed more than 100 staples in his head and was left with a large scar, but was charged with causing violent disorder and taken to court where he was cleared by a jury in 2013.

Speaking after the panel delivered its findings on Thursday, Mr Meadows said: "After almost dying at the hands of police, they attempted to blame and criminalise me, and over the course of a decade have delayed, obstructed and denied accountability."

He questioned why the Metropolitan Police officer had not been identified from footage, where he was seen using a baton "dangerously", and criticised the panel for finding overhead baton strikes reasonable.

"This panel has found an acknowledgement of the truth I’ve been saying for almost a decade, but there is still no accountability for the officer who almost killed me," he added.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation was paused during the proceedings against Mr Meadows, and it took years to identify DC Alston as the suspect.

There are no ongoing proceedings against the unidentified Metropolitan Police officer, who was highlighted with a blue marker in footage of the incident.

An IOPC spokesperson said the watchdog had made “strenuous and exhaustive enquiries” to identify the Metropolitan Police officer.

“This has undoubtedly been a difficult journey for all involved,“ a statement added.

The City of London Police Federation called the IOPC “incompetent” over the case.

Chair Mike Reed said: “We must also pay credit to our colleague DC Alston for maintaining his professionalism and dignity throughout the extremely stressful process.”

A probe by the police watchdog found DC Alston had a case to answer for gross misconduct, but City of London Police rejected its recommendation.

The force then failed in a court bid to challenge the IOPC's direction that he should face a full hearing, and the panel rejected an attempt by DC Alston to stop proceedings.

The six-day hearing was told that violent protesters had been attacking police officers, pelting them with missiles including bricks, and battering them with fences.

Mr Meadows admitted touching a large metal fence that passed over his head in the crowd, but claimed it was being used as a barrier to protect protesters from officers.

In a tense exchange with a lawyer representing DC Alston, he said he had not seen missiles being thrown towards police, and that officers were “using force” on students with their shields.

When asked why he had not moved back from the front of the crowd, Mr Meadows replied: “I didn’t think I was about to be almost killed.”

The hearing took place nine years after the protest, when more than 10,000 people demonstrated against plans to triple tuition fees.

The incident followed outbreaks of disorder at previous student protests, which saw the Metropolitan Police “kettling” teenagers after officers were criticised for a slow response to vandalism at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters at Millbank.

Mr Meadows said he had been at that protest and a second one during which students were detained in Whitehall, telling the hearing that police had become more “heavy handed” at each one.

DC Alston denied using his baton “in a violent, uncontrolled and dangerous manner” towards students, striking Mr Meadows or using unreasonable force.

The officer said he had been “trying to do my best to defend myself and my colleagues” at the protest, adding: “I was in a situation where I believed my life was at risk and that of other officers.”

DC Alston said he went into the crowd with colleagues to rescue a group of officers after the commanding officer said there was a “risk of serious injury or death”.

“To the best of my recollection I didn't hit anything,” he told the hearing. “As far as I can remember it went downwards and I didn't strike anyone at that point.”

City of London Police's assistant commissioner, Alistair Sutherland, said the student fees demonstrations of 2010 were "exceptionally challenging for all officers".

He added: "We are pleased that our officer was exonerated of the allegations made against him at the end of this very long process and that he can now get on with his career within policing.”

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