Police sergeant jailed for cell assault
Tuesday 07 September 2010 | By Evolution InternetBack to Newsroom
A police sergeant has been jailed for six months for injuring a woman in a cell.
Sgt Mark Andrews, 37, was sentenced at Oxford Magistrates' Court after being convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm in July.
CCTV footage from July 2008 showed the former soldier dragging Pamela Somerville across the floor of Melksham police station in Wiltshire, before pushing her into a cell.
Ms Somerville lay on the floor for a minute before struggling to get up, with blood pouring from a head wound.
She was later taken to Royal United Hospital in Bath, where she received stitches to a gash above her eye.
The 59-year-old had been arrested after being found asleep in her car and allegedly failing to provide a sample for a breath test.
Deputy district judge Peter Greenfield told Sgt Andrews that he had "presided over an atmosphere of bullying and intimidation".
"I consider that right thinking members of the public will be appalled and totally saddened by your actions as a police officer," he added.
