Suspect was assaulted by ex-policeman, trial hears

An ex-police sergeant assaulted a man during an arrest amid a "culture of bragging" and "intolerance" exposed on a WhatsApp chat, a court has heard.

Paul Street, 41, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of assaulting Samuel Kayode in January 2020.

He allegedly went on to pervert the course of justice by creating false statements about the arrest and the injuries Kayode suffered.

The former Cambridgeshire Police officer, from Huntingdon, denies all charges against him.

He is also accused of two offences of misconduct in a public office in 2020 and 2021.

They relate to the arrest and detention of a 17-year-old youth and requesting private images and an intimate video found on the phone of a female suspect.

Opening his trial, prosecutor Anne Whyte KC said Street "knowingly abused his professional status" as a sergeant with Cambridgeshire Police.

He joined the force in August 2005 and by 2021 was leading a team at Cambourne Police Station that mostly dealt with county lines drug supply and organised crime.

Street would routinely encounter and arrest drug users and dealers on the streets and, with his team, obtained "impressive results" in tackling serious crime, the court heard.

Whyte said: "There is no question that Paul Street's job could be challenging and that he was plainly capable of doing that job well."

However, an anti-corruption team seized his mobile phones for examination in November 2021 as part of an audit of Cambridgeshire officers and staff.

Street created a WhatsApp group called "Impact Team" in 2018, featuring 17 colleagues and an image of him with a finger to his lips, jurors heard.

Messages on the group illustrated how Street "created a culture of bragging and intolerance towards suspects" and a "zero tolerance attitude to anyone on his team who disagreed with his methods and sentiments", Whyte said.

She told jurors: "After viewing it, you might conclude that the language used at times was uncompromising, with other officers very much adopting their sergeant's sentiments about suspects.

"On any view, it makes for uncomfortable reading. Some of those officers have been subject to separate investigation as a result."

The trial continues.

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