A former police inspector from Grantham contests a misconduct hearing despite claims of unfair treatment regarding a past incident
Grantham: So, there’s this former police inspector, Jonathan Mellor, who’s got to face a misconduct hearing. It’s a bit of a mess, really. He claims it’s unfair to go ahead with it, especially since he says senior officers promised him he wouldn’t face any disciplinary action.
The hearing kicked off at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. It’s all about an incident from May 26, 2021, where he allegedly used excessive force and was disrespectful to someone on the A46. Not a good look, right?
Now, he was cleared of common assault in court, which is a relief for him. But then Lincolnshire Police said he wouldn’t face any internal proceedings. You’d think that would be the end of it, but here we are.
His lawyer, Mr. Hunter Gray, argued that promises were made to Mellor, and it’s just not fair to drag him into this hearing now. He’s saying it’s an abuse of process, which sounds pretty serious.
The case got reopened after the complainant appealed the police’s decision not to pursue it. But here’s the kicker: the complainant isn’t even showing up for the hearing anymore.
They’re relying on some mobile phone footage from the incident to move things along. Liz Briggs, representing the authority, pushed back against the abuse of process claim but admitted it might have been better to handle this with a judicial review instead of a misconduct hearing.
Jennifer Ferrario, who’s leading the panel, raised questions about whether the IOPC knew about the assurances given to Mellor. It’s all a bit complicated, and she noted that there aren’t many cases like this one.
After some deliberation, the panel decided to keep the hearing going. They felt that the public interest outweighed any potential prejudice to Mellor. It’s a tough spot for him, but they’re pushing forward.
