Ex-Cambridgeshire police officer charged with assault and misconduct in public office
A serving Cambridgeshire officer, Joshua Williams, has been charged with misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice
A current Cambridgeshire police officer, and a former officer from the county, are due to appear in court today (April 29) charged with a number of offences.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said that the former officer – who cannot be named for legal reasons – has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice - relating to an incident where the former officer allegedly struck and injured a man during an arrest and his actions following the event, two counts of misconduct in public office – relating to their actions following the detention of a 17-year-old in custody including allegedly making and sharing a threatening video, and a separate incident where they allegedly requested personal and sensitive material from a colleague who had obtained the material from the phone of a member of the public without a policing purpose, and two counts under the Data Protection Act – relating to allegedly sharing personal and sensitive material about two individuals to a member of the public.
The IOPC said that serving Cambridgeshire officer, Joshua Williams, aged 37, is also due to appear in court charged with misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice. These relate to the officer allegedly sharing personal and sensitive material obtained from the phone of a member of the public without a policing purpose and his actions following the incident.
Both are set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.
A spokesperson for the IOPC said: “The alleged offending occurred between January 2020 and February 2023.
“Our directed investigation began in October 2022 and was carried out by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire's professional standards department under our direction and control.
“In March 2024, we decided to refer a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges.”
The Peterborough Telegraph contacted Cambridgeshire Police for comment – however, they said that as it was an IOPC investigation, they would not comment at this stage.