POLICE have promised to be ‘full and open’ in their investigation after a teenage football fan sustained a head injury having been struck by an officer’s baton in Barnsley town centre.
A video, which appears to show an on-duty officer hitting the boy with the weapon, was shared on social media following the Reds’ South Yorkshire derby clash against Sheffield Wednesday at Oakwell on Saturday.
The footage - which has hit the national news this week - shows the boy, who is 16 and named as Blaine Pashley, covered in blood and South Yorkshire Police confirmed on Monday that the case has been referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).
According to his mother Claire, who showed her son’s injuries on social media and is now seeking legal advice, Blaine was taken to hospital in an ambulance but is recovering at home.
Police said an officer also received injuries to his stomach and head, for which he too attended hospital.
Chief Superintendent Sarah Poolman, the match commander, said: “On Saturday, following the Barnsley vs Sheffield Wednesday match, our officers responded to disorder outside the transport interchange.
“A full, open investigation, including extended video footage, will take place to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the actions which led to a 16-year-old boy sustaining a head injury from an officer’s baton, and an officer being assaulted, sustaining injuries to his stomach and head.
“The boy was taken to hospital by ambulance. The police officer also attended hospital. Both of their injuries are not life-threatening.”
Assistant Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said a ‘full review’ of CCTV footage in the town centre will be reviewed.
“We understand the public will have concerns about the content of a video circulating on social media,” she added.
“South Yorkshire Police has referred this matter to the IOPC and we are waiting for their decision as to how this is progressed.
“As part of the investigation into the wider disorder following the match, a full review of all available footage will be undertaken.
“The clip circulating on social media shows only a very brief period of time and in order to understand the full context of the situation, we would ask anyone who was a witness or has further footage of what took place to contact us.
“Until a decision is received from the IOPC, we will not be making any further comment.”
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, assured the public that the force ‘will be held to account’.
“The incident is a very serious matter and one that I have asked the Chief Constable for a full account of,” he added.
“The public can be assured that I will be listening very carefully to what the Chief Constable reports and that the Force will be held to account.”
The Police Federation issued a statement saying ‘extreme violence’ had been encountered by officers.
A spokesman said: “As always it is important to stress that people should treat short videos from social media with care as they don’t always show the full context or the events leading up to the incident in question.
“From speaking to officers who were present they were faced with extreme violence both towards themselves and towards members of the public from a sizeable minority of individuals who were at the game intent on causing as much trouble as possible.”
Contact 0114 2011599, quoting incident 232 of February 8.
