Wiltshire Police officer sentenced after assaulting child on duty

A Wiltshire Police officer has been given a suspended jail sentence after he assaulted a 13-year-old boy in Chippenham whilst on duty.

PC Daniel Rusling, a response officer, admitted one count of assault by beating during a court appearance last month.

Today (30/06), he was sentenced to an eight week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months and unpaid work at Bristol Magistrates' Court.

The incident took place outside Monkton Park police station in the early hours of October 14 last year when the victim, who was among a group of six children, had called 999 asking for help after reporting being threatened by people in a car.

Body Worn Video captured Rusling repeatedly swearing at the child, who was wearing his school uniform, and pushing him aggressively several times.

Thankfully, the child was not injured as a result of the assault.

This matter has formed part of an independent investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who are overseeing both the criminal and misconduct elements of this case.

Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: “Firstly, I want to apologise directly to the victim in this case – a child who was simply asking us to help him. I also want to extend this to his family, all the other children involved and to our wider communities – you absolutely expect better from us and we let you down.

“The actions of Daniel Rusling that morning were criminal – he ignored his fundamental duty to protect a vulnerable person and, instead, used violence and vile language to intimidate and scare him.

“I want to stress that his actions are, in no way, representative of our organisation nor the vast majority of our officers, staff and volunteers who come to work every day with the sole intention of serving our communities.

“We will continue to identify and remove from our organisation anyone with the attitude clearly demonstrated by Daniel Rusling.

“We will also continue to ensure we learn from such appalling matters and make our stance on them unequivocally clear to the rest of our organisation, our partners and our communities.”

An expedited gross misconduct process will now take place regarding Daniel Rusling.

You can read the full statement from the IOPC here.

You can watch Body Worn Video of this incident here. Please note this contains offensive language and could be distressing for viewers.