Daniella Davenport, a pupil at Garden Court Chambers, represented the defendant, instructed by Nimah Ali at Stuart Miller Solicitors.
Daniella Davenport represented a 16-year-old boy acquitted of assaulting police, after the court found that police officers were outside the execution of their duty when they threw him to the floor and PAVA sprayed him.
Daniella represented AM, who, although sustaining injuries in the incident, found himself charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of failing to provide personal details when engaging in anti-social behaviour.
Through cross-examination of the officers, Daniella was able to show inconsistencies in their reasoning for believing the young person had engaged in anti-social behaviour, and the unreliable nature of this assertion. Daniella also challenged whether the police officers were requiring AM’s details for legitimate purposes, or to assist a private corporation in taking action against him, beyond their duties as constables.
The court found that the officers did not have reason to believe AM was engaging in anti-social behaviour, so were not acting within their duties when they used force against him. Therefore, any force the young person may have used was in reasonable self-defence against the force used by the officers.
The acquittals ensure that AM maintains his status as a young man of good character.
