Driver punched by inspector gets £100k payout

A man who was attacked by a Lincolnshire Police inspector has received £100,000 in compensation, the force has confirmed.

Jonathan Mellor, who had more than 30 years' service, punched Shane Price in the face, pushed him to the floor and stamped on his foot during an incident on a Lincolnshire road in 2021.

Mr Mellor was cleared in court of assault, but a police disciplinary hearing in January found his actions amounted to gross misconduct and said he would have been dismissed had he not already retired.

Mr Price, who told the panel that he had been left in pain and "mentally traumatised", also had his legal costs paid, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The incident took place on the A46 between Newark and Lincoln on 26 May 2021 and was filmed by Mr Price's wife who was a passenger in the vehicle.

Footage showed Mr Price gesturing for Mr Mellor, both of whom were driving at the time, to pull over.

He accused the officer of taking a picture of him while behind the wheel and less than a minute later he was pushed to the floor.

The former inspector was seen punching him in the face and stamping on the foot that Mr Price had told him was injured.

The video footage also showed Mr Mellor using strong language to tell Mr Price to stay where he was and threatening to "put you down".

Mr Mellor told the hearing he did not take any photos and said his actions were to "create a space where I'm in control of him and out the way of traffic".

The disciplinary panel rejected claims of self-defence and said the public would be "appalled" to learn of the incident.

It dismissed his claims that the motorist was aggressive towards him or that he was trying to protect him from stepping into the dual carriageway.

The former officer was found to have breached professional standards of force, discreditable conduct, respect and courtesy.

Lincolnshire Police declined to make any further statement following the payment, LDRS said.

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