Inspector ‘killed boy, 16, who filmed his police station because he was ‘fed up with internet freaks’ before arresting him as a suspected terrorist’
Dean Gittoes, 49, charged with assault by punching teenage boy and ‘choking’ him
The boy was taking a video outside Merthyr Tydfil police station in South Wales
Teenager part of ‘revision group’ filming how officers interact with the public
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A police inspector throttled a 16-year-old filming his station because he was ‘fed up with internet freaks’ – and arrested him as a suspected terrorist, a court heard.
Dean Gittoes, 49, is accused of assault by punching the teenage boy who was standing outside filming the police station and posting it online.
The video footage filmed by the teenager at Merthyr Tydfil police station in South Wales shows the boy explaining the style of the building to onlookers.
In a police interview played to the court, the teenager said he was part of a worldwide ‘audit group’ filming officers and how they interacted with members of the public.
Dean Gittoes (pictured), 49, is accused of assault by punching the teenage boy who was standing outside the police station to film and post it online
He said he had gone to the station after a friend from the auditing community told him he had filmed Inspector Gittoes about a month before.
But while filming, the boy was confronted by Inspector Gittoes, who was accused of being ‘aggressive’ and at one point ‘choking him’.
Prosecutor Jason Howells said Gittoes had wrongly used the Terrorism Act to arrest the teenager.
He said: ‘The officer had acted the way he did because he had had a bad weekend and was annoyed by what had happened weeks before – and said he was fed up with the internet freaks filming and putting things on the Internet’.
In a police interview played to the court, the teenager said he was part of a worldwide ‘audit group’ filming officers and how they interacted with members of the public.
He said he had gone to the station after a friend from the auditing community told him he had filmed Inspector Gittoes about a month before.
In the footage from the teenager’s phone, Gittoes is seen and heard saying: ‘I’m asking you who you are, what’s your name’, before saying he might be a terrorist.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, replied: ‘You suspect me of being a terrorist?’
Gittoes then asks ‘what are you doing?’ before the teenager replies: ‘I’m filming.’
The video then went black, but the audio recording continues for some time.
Magistrates in Cwmbran, Gwent, were played CCTV showing Gittoes holding the 16-year-old’s arm and walking him into the police station and later arresting him.
During the filming the boy was confronted by Inspector Gittoes who was accused of being ‘aggressive’ and at one point ‘choking him’
The court heard the inspector stood by his handling of the situation, saying he assessed the situation according to guidance and used the ‘straight arm bar technique’ to restrain the teenager.
The teenager told police Gittoes was ‘aggressive’, ‘pushed him’ and at one point ‘choked him’.
In CCTV footage captured during the arrest, Gittoes appears to pull the teenager’s collar.
The teenager told police that ‘it felt like he was pulling my hood, that’s why I said I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’.
Experienced officer Gittoes, from Merthyr Tydfil, denies assault. The trial continues and is expected to last three days.
An IOPC spokesman said: ‘Following a referral by South Wales Police of a complaint from a member of the public, we investigated an allegation that on 20 August 2021 Inspector Gittoes used excessive force to arrest and detain a 16-year-old boy , who filmed outside Merthyr Tydfil Police Station.
‘Our independent investigation was completed in January. We submitted evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who have since decided to uphold the charge of common assault.’