Police officer grabbed boy's neck in 'shocking' attack after he wouldn't go to bed

A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer has been convicted of assaulting a teenage care home resident.

A jury today (Friday) found PC Benjamin Heppenstall, 33, guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) after twice grabbing the 16-year-old by the neck and ripping his t-shirt off his back.

In January 2021, Heppenstall, part of GMP's Wigan division, was responding to an incident, not involving the boy, at a care home where threats had allegedly been made to two women who worked there.

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Two suspects were arrested and were present in a room with the two alleged victims, who were unharmed. Heppenstall told the boy, who was sat near the suspects on a sofa, to get out of the room and "go to bed."

In a statement issued today detailing the incident, GMP said the boy refused and Heppenstall "proceeded to initially try and pull the boy up from the sofa by his arm." He then put his hand "forcefully" around the boy's neck and became "verbally abusive."

"Such was PC Heppenstall’s grip on the victim, he tore the boy’s t-shirt and pulled it off him before then forcefully grabbing his neck a second time, which resulted in the boy being injured and one of the workers, who was one of the initial victims, trying to intervene and pull PC Heppenstall away," a GMP spokesperson said.

A complaint was made to GMP's Professional Standards Directorate who took witness statements and acquired footage from Heppenstall's body-worn camera before proceeding with a case for assault.

Heppenstall was convicted of ABH at Bolton Crown Court following a five-day trial. He will be sentenced on November 27. He had been on restricted duties since