A Metropolitan police officer has been convicted for assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a hospital transport in London
London: A police officer just got found guilty for slapping a 16-year-old boy in the face multiple times. This happened while the boy was being taken to a hospital. The officer, PC Sevda Gonen, let her frustrations get the better of her, according to the judge.
Gonen, who’s 33 and from Leytonstone, was also found guilty of an unlawful search along with another officer, Stuart Price. They were in court for their actions on November 13, 2023.
The police were called because the boy was acting aggressively at home and had been violent towards a mental health worker. A camera in the police van caught Gonen making some pretty harsh comments about the boy, calling him names.
Price chimed in too, saying the boy was a “fucking dickhead.” Gonen later apologized, saying it was just in the heat of the moment. But the prosecutor pointed out that Gonen really didn’t like the boy and thought he was faking his mental health issues.
When they arrived at the boy’s home, his mom was worried about him and asked the officers to take him to the hospital. While in the van, the boy lit a cigarette, which made Gonen panic. She climbed into the back and pushed him into a corner.
After a bit of a struggle, they handcuffed him but didn’t actually arrest him. Gonen claimed the boy was resisting her attempts to take his cigarette, which she thought was a safety risk because she has asthma.
They searched the boy, but the prosecution argued it was unlawful since he hadn’t been arrested. The judge agreed, saying the officers didn’t think about whether they had the right to search him. Gonen and Price are set to be sentenced on January 24.