BBCA police officer accused of kneeing a teenager in the groin, causing him to lose half a testicle, has been found not guilty of grievous bodily harm.
Harley Murphy was 17 when he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside Cube night club in Bangor, Gwynedd, in the early hours of 29 January 2023.
PC Ellis Thomas, 24, from Anglesey, told Mold Crown Court that he took Mr Murphy to the floor by sweeping his legs from underneath him during his arrest, but did not knee him in the groin.
Mr Murphy suffered a ruptured testicle, 50% of which had to be removed during surgery.
Mold Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the jury in the trial had come to a unanimous decision after about three hours of deliberation.
During the trial, Mr Murphy approached him and insulted him and it “was clear” he was “committing a criminal offence of being drunk and disorderly,” PC Thomas said.
He said he advised Mr Murphy of this and told him to go home, but said he swore at him and said he had not done anything wrong.
He was shown CCTV footage of the arrest and said he had only lifted his leg because he was trying to sweep Mr Murphy’s ankles a second time.
Mr Murphy told the court the pain was “instant and like nothing he had felt before”.
The following day, he went to A&E at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and 50% of the content of one of his testicles was “bulging out”.
Half of the ruptured testicle was removed and doctors concluded “long-term pain is possible”.
PC Thomas said he had not switched on his bodyworn camera before the arrest as he did not have the chance during the “dynamic” incident and refuted prosecution barrister Elen Owen’s suggestion he was trying to cover his tracks.
Derrick Campbell, director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said it carried out an investigation following a complaint referral from North Wales Police, before sending a “file of evidence” to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Mr Campbell added the IOPC respected the court’s verdict and would now liaise with the force “regarding any potential disciplinary proceedings for PC Thomas”.
