Ocean
The Living Force
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1090655/War-hero-returns-beaten-police-pay-compensation.html
War hero returns from the front to be beaten up by police, then has to pay them compensation
30th November 2008
See the full CCTV footage at link
A soldier who served his country in Iraq and Afghanistan was allegedly attacked and violently beaten by police officers in the street.
Lance Corporal Mark Aspinall, 24, was thrown to the ground by three uniformed police officers after enjoying a night out with friends.
The sickening attack – caught on CCTV – shocked a Crown Court judge who branded it an 'appalling' attack.
Captured: Mark Aspinall is pinned down by police officers in a Manchester street - scroll down to see the full CCTV footage
But astonishingly Lance Corporal Aspinall was the one hauled before the courts and convicted of assaulting the police.
He was sentenced to 200 hours community service and even ordered to pay compensation to the police officers.
His ordeal only ended when Judge John Phipps watched the damning CCTV footage and quashed the verdict on appeal.
Judge Phipps said: 'I am shocked and appalled at the level of police violence shown here.'
Mr Aspinall - highly praised by his commanding officer for bravery against the Taliban in Afghanistan - said: 'I was scared for my life.
'I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to die here. I can’t believe I’ve survived Afghanistan and Iraq and now I’m going to die on this main road in my home town at the hands of the police’. Yet I was the one who ended up in the dock, not the officers.'
Mr Aspinall, who had injuries to his face and head, had been out drinking with friends in Wigan, Lancashire, and left the town’s Walkabout bar at 2.40am on Sunday, July 27.
Police officers had been called to the town centre to deal with a man allegedly causing a nuisance to paramedics.
But when a special constable and his two colleagues saw Mr Aspinall in the road they presumed he was the cause of the trouble.
In the footage, the soldier can be clearly seen standing 10ft from them in the middle of the road as they stand on the pavement.
Suddenly, the three officers move as one and start running across the road towards him and, startled, Mr Aspinall falls over.
As he gets to his feet one officer rugby tackles him, while the other two help pin him to the ground and attempt to handcuff him.
The footage appears to show one of the officers raining punches into the back of the defenceless man as he lies on the ground.
Wronged: Mark Aspinall's conviction was quashed on appeal. The judge said he was 'appalled' at the police violence
The eight blows come in just a few seconds and the police officer only stops when a car drives past slowly.
Eventually, Mr Aspinall was bundled into a police van in handcuffs, taken to Wigan police station and kept in custody for 20 hours.
He was charged with two counts of police assault and a public order offence – swearing at the officers. On September 22, at Wigan magistrates’ court, the three officers read statements to the court that Mr Aspinall had been behaving violently.
Despite viewing the footage, magistrates found him guilty of the two assaults, sentenced him to community service and gave him a suspended prison sentence. They also ordered him to pay £250 compensation to the police officers.
Mr Aspinall, who returned from Afghanistan in February and was working his notice in the Army at the time of attack, said: 'I put my life on the line every day in Afghanistan, so to come back and be treated like this for no reason was just so depressing.
'My plan was to join the fire service when I came out of the Army – but I was rejected because of my conviction. It meant I was unemployable.'
Mr Aspinall said: 'I was drunk, I’ll admit that, but I wasn’t causing trouble. It was awful. I had come back from fighting in Afghanistan and now, on community service, I was painting a school as a convict, standing next to men who were drug dealers and robbers.'
He lodged an appeal against the conviction and on November 13 at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Phipps saw the footage and asked incredulously: 'Where is this man of violence?'
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the matter had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
He said: 'One officer has had his duties restricted and another two are being investigated.'
War hero returns from the front to be beaten up by police, then has to pay them compensation
30th November 2008
See the full CCTV footage at link
A soldier who served his country in Iraq and Afghanistan was allegedly attacked and violently beaten by police officers in the street.
Lance Corporal Mark Aspinall, 24, was thrown to the ground by three uniformed police officers after enjoying a night out with friends.
The sickening attack – caught on CCTV – shocked a Crown Court judge who branded it an 'appalling' attack.
Captured: Mark Aspinall is pinned down by police officers in a Manchester street - scroll down to see the full CCTV footage
But astonishingly Lance Corporal Aspinall was the one hauled before the courts and convicted of assaulting the police.
He was sentenced to 200 hours community service and even ordered to pay compensation to the police officers.
His ordeal only ended when Judge John Phipps watched the damning CCTV footage and quashed the verdict on appeal.
Judge Phipps said: 'I am shocked and appalled at the level of police violence shown here.'
Mr Aspinall - highly praised by his commanding officer for bravery against the Taliban in Afghanistan - said: 'I was scared for my life.
'I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to die here. I can’t believe I’ve survived Afghanistan and Iraq and now I’m going to die on this main road in my home town at the hands of the police’. Yet I was the one who ended up in the dock, not the officers.'
Mr Aspinall, who had injuries to his face and head, had been out drinking with friends in Wigan, Lancashire, and left the town’s Walkabout bar at 2.40am on Sunday, July 27.
Police officers had been called to the town centre to deal with a man allegedly causing a nuisance to paramedics.
But when a special constable and his two colleagues saw Mr Aspinall in the road they presumed he was the cause of the trouble.
In the footage, the soldier can be clearly seen standing 10ft from them in the middle of the road as they stand on the pavement.
Suddenly, the three officers move as one and start running across the road towards him and, startled, Mr Aspinall falls over.
As he gets to his feet one officer rugby tackles him, while the other two help pin him to the ground and attempt to handcuff him.
The footage appears to show one of the officers raining punches into the back of the defenceless man as he lies on the ground.
Wronged: Mark Aspinall's conviction was quashed on appeal. The judge said he was 'appalled' at the police violence
The eight blows come in just a few seconds and the police officer only stops when a car drives past slowly.
Eventually, Mr Aspinall was bundled into a police van in handcuffs, taken to Wigan police station and kept in custody for 20 hours.
He was charged with two counts of police assault and a public order offence – swearing at the officers. On September 22, at Wigan magistrates’ court, the three officers read statements to the court that Mr Aspinall had been behaving violently.
Despite viewing the footage, magistrates found him guilty of the two assaults, sentenced him to community service and gave him a suspended prison sentence. They also ordered him to pay £250 compensation to the police officers.
Mr Aspinall, who returned from Afghanistan in February and was working his notice in the Army at the time of attack, said: 'I put my life on the line every day in Afghanistan, so to come back and be treated like this for no reason was just so depressing.
'My plan was to join the fire service when I came out of the Army – but I was rejected because of my conviction. It meant I was unemployable.'
Mr Aspinall said: 'I was drunk, I’ll admit that, but I wasn’t causing trouble. It was awful. I had come back from fighting in Afghanistan and now, on community service, I was painting a school as a convict, standing next to men who were drug dealers and robbers.'
He lodged an appeal against the conviction and on November 13 at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Phipps saw the footage and asked incredulously: 'Where is this man of violence?'
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the matter had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
He said: 'One officer has had his duties restricted and another two are being investigated.'
