Chester prison officer found guilty of assault at HMP Berwyn

Joshua Francis, of Athena Grove in Chester, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Wednesday and Thursday for trial.

The 32-year-old had previously denied one offence of assault by beating, which was alleged to have happened at HMP Berwyn, during his duty as a custodial manager.

Prosecutor Helen Sidhu told the court the victim, Jake Burns, was a prisoner on the day of the incident (May 9, 2023) and that the defendant had used force which was "not reasonable" in the course of his duties.

She told the court Francis had punched the victim's head and face after he'd been restrained face down on a bed, leaving him with a bleeding nose, bruising and swelling to his face.

Francis, along with other officers, brought food in polystyrene containers for Mr Burns and his cellmate on the day.

The victim threw the food, he told the court in evidence, with it landing on the floor and all over the cell.

What followed, the victim explained, was a series of punches to his head and face by the defendant after he'd been handcuffed behind his back.

"It was so quick," he said.

"I was defenceless.

My nose popped - there was blood coming out of it."

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Francis, under questioning by his defending solicitor Catherine Higham, told the court the situation went from "0 to 100" and that immediately after being disorientated by the food being thrown in his face, he had no ability to restrain Mr Burns in the standard way.

"In that moment," he said, "it was completely personal protection."

The defendant said the required ratio to safely restrain prisoners was three staff to one inmate - one to control the head and one on each arm.

But between Mr Burns and his cell mate, who both required restraining, there were only four officers, including Francis.

He said: "I'm in a cell with two prisoners being restrained, understaffed - I'm doing whatever I can to defend myself and to gain some control of the situation."

And as the officers struggled to gain control, the landing was busy with other inmates who were out of their cells.

Only when a prisoner decided to press the general alarm did several more officers come running from other units to assist, he told the court.

"All of our resources, which we don't have enough of, ended up tied up in that cell," Francis said.

"There are still prisoners out on the landing and no one to lock them up - they could potentially have got involved in that situation.

"For a prisoner to press the general alarm, they obviously deem that to be a serious situation."

Cross-examining Francis, Prosecutor Helen Sidhu said: "I put it to you that at the time where you've struck Jake twice on the bed, and then again when he stood up and is controlled, those extra blows were unnecessary."

The defendant answered: "I'd been assaulted, stunned and confused and was at the back of the cell.

"I thought my actions were reasonable, necessary and proportionate at that moment."

But at the conclusion of the trial on Friday morning, District Judge Gwyn Jones found the defendant guilty of common assault.

He found the officer's actions had been lawful up to a point - but what followed when Mr Burns had been constrained in cuffs wasn't lawful.

It had been "excessive self defence," the Judge found.

He said: "The use of force by striking twice to the face, as shown on the body worn footage, was not necessary or proportionate - and so [was] unlawful.

"You were at that time in a position of power and trust. You abused that trust and used unlawful force.

"You were the senior officer and should have been setting a good example to junior colleagues."

Ms Higham, in mitigation, told the court: "He had just been assaulted and this was a completely new situation for him - he had to rely on instinct to defend himself.

"He is currently still employed by the Prison Service but is suspended on basic pay.

"It is unclear at this stage what will happen to that employment - the prison will have its own internal measures, so it is up in the air.

"This comes after eight years of service (in the Prison Service), and five years in the Armed Forces.

"He isn't someone who displays any kind of inherent criminality."

The court handed down a £2,000 fine for the crime, as well as ordering Francis to pay £775 costs and a £500 contribution towards compensation.