GMP special constable assaulted boy, 7, for spraying him with water - then tried to claim self-defence

A Greater Manchester Police special constable who grabbed a seven-year-old round the neck and shoulders after being 'accidentally' sprayed during a water fight has been convicted of assault. Andrew Parkinson, of Bolton, picked the boy up and carried him to his parents' house where his dad opened the front door to find him 'terrified and white as a sheet', a court heard.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard that Parkinson, a special constable for 35 years, is now likely to lose that position after being convicted, Liverpool Echo reports. Despite being found guilty, Parkinson, 55, told probation officers as recently as a few weeks ago that he didn't think what he did was wrong.

Joshua Sanderson-Kirk, prosecuting, said Parkinson’s trial in June had heard that he was walking through the Bolton street where both he and the boy’s family lived at the time.

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The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was playing with other kids who lived nearby and they were spraying each other with water. Mr Sanderson-Kirk said the boy accidentally sprayed Parkinson with water and he immediately became angry, got face to face with the boy and started telling him off. The court heard the boy then tripped and fell towards him.

Mr Sanderson-Kirk said: “His forehead made contact with Mr Parkinson. He then took hold of [the boy] around his neck and shoulders, picked him up and carried him to his father’s house.”

He said the dad opened the door to see his son looking “terrified and white as a sheet”. A neighbour sitting nearby and the other children who had been playing with the boy also saw the incident, and an argument then broke out close to the boy’s home