A serving police officer who “violently” flung a teenage football fan against a set of shutters before punching him three times went “over the top”, a court heard.
CCTV footage shows PC Liam Stewart pushing Louis McAndrew before striking him on Tuesday, August 8, 2017.
A jury of nine women and three men were told PC Stewart says he was acting in self-defence and the force he used was “necessary, reasonable and proportionate”.
Mr McAndrew was a Chesterfield football club season ticket holder and had planned to watch The Spireites take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, South Yorks.
He was part of a group of ten friends who arrived at Sheffield railway station and visited a series of pubs in the city centre before getting a taxi to Hillsborough Corner.
Mr McAndrew was then served in the Hillsborough Tap pub before being asked to leave because he was an away fan.
Opening the case today (Weds), prosecutor Ian Brook told the court police were called after Mr McAndrew went back in the bar to warn friends who had arrived in a later taxi.
He told the jury officers arrived and served 35 notices which barred them from the game.
In handheld footage filmed by a police officer shown to the court, Mr McAndrew is recorded saying, ‘I’ve got a ticket; I’ve got a season ticket; I’m a true fan; I’ve done nothing wrong’.
A court heard PC Stewart then grabbed the teenager by the throat who “could not breath”, pushed him against a set of shutters and then punched him three times.
Mr McAndrew, who was 18-years-old at the time of the alleged incident, went to A&E on August 10 and x-rays later revealed he had broken his nose.
PC Stewart, of Barnsley, was charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
He denies a single charge of causing assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Mr Brook said the police officer will claim group Mr McAndrew was with were associated with what are “commonly referred to as football hooligans” known as the Chesterfield Bastard Squad.
The prosecutor told a court the defence barrister will tell the court the complainant was attached to the Chesterfield Bastard Squad, although he will deny it.
He said: “What he did in delivering those three punches, in particular the last one, was quite unreasonable and totally disproportionate to any contact the complainant made to him or any future threat he may have perceived as imminent.
“Putting it colloquially, we see the defendant went over the top in his dealings with this youth.”
Mr McAndrew was stopped by two police officers who handed him a section 35 notice banning him from attending the match, a court heard.
“He was a bit upset at that point as he had taken half a day holiday from work, spent money on a ticket and the price of his train fare,” he added.
“It seemed to the complainant these two officers were looking for some form of confrontation.
“At this stage, the police officer grabbed him around the throat and pushed him against some shutters of a Superdrug.
“The next thing he remembered was blood everywhere and his shirt ripped and he is taken to the ground by other officers.”
A court heard McAndrew’s mother made a complaint to police over the phone and sourced CCTV footage from an opticians after mounting her own investigation which captured the alleged incident.
Mr Brook said Mr McAndrew admits he pushed the officer in the chest while he had his hands round his throat because he “could not breathe”.
“He disputes he was being aggressive. He disputes he had his fists clenched and that he was constantly swearing and was bouncing on his feet. Those are features the officer says he saw,” he added.
“He denies flailing his arms wildly as the officer contends.”
Mr McAndrew claimed he had drunk four pints of lager over a four to five hour period, a jury heard.
But Mr Brook told a court the defendant has said Mr McAndrew was “heavily in drink” and he believed he was about to punch him as he had taken off his jacket and dropped his shoulder.
He said the officer has said in his statements Mr McAndrew was swearing and flailing his arms but the complainant denies this.
The prosecutor said the officer also denies holding Mr McAndrew by the throat, instead claiming he held him by the shirt.
The trial continues.
