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Four police officers in court over assault claims, with two PCs accused of fracturing the arm of a man already in handcuffs
Four serving Sussex police officers have denied assault charges in two separate cases involving allegations of excessive force during arrests. The cases matter because they concern alleged injuries to people in police custody and were investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
PCs Richard Harris, 36, and Lorenzo Fenu, 28, are accused of causing actual bodily harm to a man whose elbow was fractured at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton on 16 April, after he had been detained under the Mental Health Act and handcuffed. PCs James Reilly, 41, and Pablo Cabanes, 25, deny assaulting Dean Ettienne, who suffered ligament damage during an arrest in Crawley on 20 March. All four officers are due to appear at Maidstone Crown Court on 7 December.
In short
- Four Sussex officers deny assault charges in two cases.
- One man suffered a fractured elbow while handcuffed in hospital.
- A second man reported ligament damage during an arrest in Crawley.
Explained simply
Police officers can use force when making an arrest, but the law places limits on what is reasonable in the circumstances. An allegation of assault means a court must decide whether the force used crossed those limits; the officers named in these cases deny the charges.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct investigates serious concerns about police behaviour, including alleged injuries during arrests or in custody. Such cases matter because they involve the safety of people held by police and the accountability of officers, while the court process determines what happened in each instance.