SPECIAL CONSTABLE ‘PUNCHED TEEN IN THE PRIVATES’ IN FRONT OF HIS MUM
A misconduct panel at Maidstone police headquarters on October 7 found Mr Pryer’s actions “bordered on harassment” and “caused reputational harm to Kent Police”.The panel heard Mr Pryer had denied hitting the boy in the groin in 2022.
But having accepted evidence from eye-witnesses, the tribunal concluded Mr Pryer’s bizarre actions would have resulted in his sacking, had he not already resigned.
The first incident unfolded when off-duty Mr Pryer and the teen, known as Mr A, were volunteering at an undisclosed location.
Official papers explained the panel accepted evidence from witness Lewis Cobb, who described to DC Hollie Brown how SC Pryer struck Mr A.
“‘He saw Jasper hit Mr A in the privates two to three times, Cobb described this as a ‘nut shot’.” The panel also accepted the complainant’s mother’s evidence, who, although she did not witness the incident, heard an “argh noise” while looking at her phone.
“I looked up and saw Mr A crouched down on the floor,” she told the tribunal.
In a statement made to DC Brown afterwards, the teenager told her Mr Pryer had “punched him in the groin area three times on two separate occasions”.
He also stressed that there had never been any issues in the past years between the two, and they had never fallen out.
Several witnesses also said the act had been done in the context of general horseplay.
Pryer denied that he had ever inappropriately struck the juvenile; however, the panel rejected this.
The second incident took place on a separate occasion that year.
In live evidence at the hearing, the complainant said SC Pryer had smirked, hit him in the groin with a clenched fist, uttered the words “ball tap” and then walked off.
He told the tribunal: “I said ‘hi’ to him, he looked at me, and then with a fist, his right hand punched me in the privates.” The panel also heard evidence from witness Shaun Webb, who recalled that he “glanced round and saw Jasper backhand Mr A in the groin”.
The victim’s mother saw the second incident too, and this time confronted Mr Pryer, the misconduct hearing heard.
She said: “I saw Mr A standing near the condiment table.
He was standing there with his hands down, resting on his groin.” “I asked if he was okay, and he said, ‘Jasper has hit me in the privates’.” Mr Pryer's actions were then reported to a general manager at the location where they were volunteering.
Official papers state: “The panel considered the purported admission made by SC Pryer in his conduct interview in March 2023, and rejected his version of the incident, namely that he ‘kind of slapped him on the leg and shouted boo as like a kind of like a jump scare sort of thing’.
“SC Pryer went on to specifically deny hitting Mr A in the groin, saying, ‘No, the leg.
’” The former officer even went on to say that punching each other in that way was common practice “in a group of friends where everyone does it”.
After hearing the evidence, the misconduct panel deemed both allegations to be true and decided that they amounted to gross misconduct.
“The deliberate hitting of Mr A in the groin area was highly inappropriate behaviour and unacceptable conduct from an off-duty special constable”, documents state.
“SC Pryer’s actions were intentional and deliberate, in that the panel found he struck Mr A in the groin area on three separate occasions.
“His actions fell short of bullying but bordered on harassment of a member of the public, namely of a vulnerable person, due to his age.
“Mr A described suffering physical pain consequent to both incidents.
“The panel found that the officer’s conduct will have caused reputational harm to Kent Police and undermined public confidence in policing generally.” Ultimately, it was decided that Mr Pryer would be dismissed from the force, had he not already resigned.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Armory, head of professional standards, said: “Kent Police officers, special constables and staff are held to very high standards of professional conduct.
“Any impropriety, either on or off duty, can undermine the trust and confidence that members of the public have in Kent Police.
“We do not hesitate to take action when someone’s behaviour falls short of what is expected of them, and it is only right that SC Pryer would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.”
