A man has been sent to prison for pushing a police officer down stairs during a protest in central London

Jamie Dewing 31 (06.04.1989) of Valley View, Saltburn was sentenced to 2 years in prison at Teesside Crown Court today, Tuesday 18^th August.

 

He had previously appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 8th July where he admitted one count of assaulting an emergency service worker and one count of violent disorder.

He had been remanded in custody by the court awaiting sentence.

On 13 June, Dewing had travelled from Saltburn to join hundreds of demonstrators protesting in Parliament Square. Very early into the day, a small minority of demonstrators, including Dewing, became increasingly hostile to police officers.

At roughly 13:00hrs, Dewing fronted up to officers who were policing the crowds near to the Nelson Mandela statue.  Officers had made their way there to retrieve from the crowd an isolated female, believed to be from an opposing group, as there was serious concerns for her wellbeing. 

Officers were taking this woman to safety and were moving away from the crowd, when Dewing violently shoved the female officer.

As a result, the officer fell backwards down steps and onto her back. The officer received injuries to her back and neck and although she has returned to duty she is still receiving physiotherapy.

Dewing’s violent behaviour didn’t stop there, and throughout the rest of the day he was caught on camera acting aggressively, including throwing items such as a metal barrier at officers and repeatedly spitting at officers at cordons along Whitehall.

As part of the post-incident investigation, his image was released to the media and Dewing was identified by an officer from Cleveland Police.

DC Nicky Dixon, part of the investigation team into the disorder, said: “Dewing assaulted an officer who was only trying to protect a member of the public.  This officer braved a hostile crowd to carry out the rescue of someone who was vulnerable.  Having come to the woman’s aid, the officer was moving away when Dewing assaulted her.  There is no excuse for this or his later actions, it was just thuggery.

“I’d like to thank Cleveland Police for their help in identifying Dewing. When arrested he initially denied that he was responsible, but officers had gathered extensive evidence. When faced with the overwhelming evidence against him, he pleaded guilty and has rightly been sent to prison.

“As part of our investigation into recent disorder, we have released many images of people we would like to speak with in connection with this incident. I would urge everyone to please take a few minutes to look through these images in the news and on social media and, if you identify anyone you recognise, please let us know who they are.”

View the gallery of images: http://news.met.police.uk/news/arrests-made-following-recent-violence-407189

A Cleveland Police Spokesperson said: “We are pleased that one of our officers was able to assist our colleagues at the Met Police with their investigation which has led to Jamie Dewing being brought to justice.

“Dewing’s conviction and sentence is a great example of how Forces can work together to identify and arrest suspects. It shows that no matter where you travel, officers will locate you and bring you to justice for any crimes you have committed.

“We hope that Dewing’s sentence provides some level of comfort to the officer who was injured by Dewing whilst carrying out her duties.”