A POLICE officer has been sentenced for punching an "aggressive" handcuffed teen in the face.

PC Jacob Swallow, 25, a West Yorkshire Police officer based in the Bradford district, was found guilty at trial of one charge of common assault.

He was sentenced at York Magistrates Court today to 22 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months.

The suspended sentence means that if he fails to comply with the requirements of his sentence or is convicted of another offence during the period of his suspended sentence then he is likely to serve the original custodial term as well as the sentence he gets for any new offence.

The charge relates to a 17-year-old man who police dealt with in Keighley on June 15 last year.

Officers were called to a report of a disturbance and the teenager was handcuffed and placed in the rear cage of a police van.

The cage doors were shut and the suspect then began banging his head against one of those doors.

Two officers opened the van door to restrain him and he bit one of them, before the cage doors were closed again and the man 17-year-old continued to bang his head.

PC Swallow opened the vehicle door and punched the male once in the face.

This caused the teenager's head to recoil backwards and bang against the back of the cage, which led to his nose bleeding.          

Detective Chief Superintendent Nicola Bryar, Head of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “The law recognises that there are situations where police officers may be required to use force.

"It is vital though that it is only used when reasonable, necessary and proportionate.

“In this incident, the victim was handcuffed and secured in a police vehicle.

"While the male was being aggressive both to himself and officers, this was no justification for punching him in the circumstances and the court has recognised the officer’s actions to be unlawful.  

“This incident was captured on officer’s body-worn video.

"This is there to protect both our officers and staff and the public.

"On this occasion it was a key piece of evidence used to convict PC Swallow.

"The force has mandated that all officers and staff on frontline duties will activate body-worn video when engaging their policing powers.

"The public should have confidence that this footage provides an ‘independent witness’ to interactions between the police and members of the public and that it is reviewed and acted on, as in this case.

“PC Swallow has been suspended from duty and now that this court case has concluded, we will move forward with misconduct proceedings.”

Swallow was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, pay £200 in compensation and £940 in costs.