Head teacher threatened to sue police during arrest

A head teacher lay on the ground and threatened to sue police for hundreds of thousands of pounds as officers arrested him in his school car park, a court heard.

Gregory Hill, 48, denies harassing a 23-year-old female colleague and resisting arrest at Howard Junior School in King's Lynn, Norfolk, both of which he denies.

The town's magistrates' court was shown police body-worn camera footage of the arrest, in which Mr Hill, of Fakenham, complained he had been assaulted and could not breathe.

Earlier in the trial, under cross-examination, the complainant denied she had made up her allegations, adding: "I’m doing this so no-one ever has to deal with the likes of this man ever again."

The prosecution's case is that Mr Hill pressurised, controlled and isolated her from other members of staff over a period of 11 months.

She alleges he followed her and bombarded her with messages, including one in which he said he had fallen in love with her.

He also took pictures of her car while she was at a family occasion, the court heard.

The defence claims she liked the attention but that the pair's friendship soured, leading her to lie about their interactions in the hope of getting compensation.

Arresting officer PC Heidi Hollington said she and PC Laura Wild wore civilian clothes to "try to be discreet" when going to arrest Mr Hill at 08:50 GMT on 6 March 2023, a school day.

They went to his workplace in Gaywood because they were uncertain of his home address, the court heard.

In footage of the arrest shown to court, Mr Hill asked to phone his union and appeared to become angry and distressed at the officers approaching him at school.

He refused to move from the ground, said his fingers and hands were injured and that he could not breathe, shouting to colleagues: "I've been assaulted terribly."

Police said blood seen coming from his nose was from a self-inflicted injury and officers could be heard on the footage telling Mr Hill he could get medical care at the police station.

Support arrived and Mr Hill was detained by six officers and carried to a police van.

Giving evidence, PC Wild said: "The more we tried to communicate with him, the more uncooperative he became."

The trial is scheduled to continue on Friday at Norwich Magistrates' Court.

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