PC cleared of assault on prisoner

A POLICE officer who repeatedly kneed an epileptic prisoner on the head has been cleared of 
assault.

Constable Peter Cullen, 32, was found not guilty by a majority verdict at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court yesterday.

William Cree, 25, was rushed to hospital after collapsing with a head injury that police claimed was caused by running into a door.

PC Cullen insisted his actions were in self-defence as he feared Mr Cree was about to bite him while being pinned down.

He had denied assaulting the 25-year-old to his injury at Saltcoats police office in Ayrshire last November.

Following the verdict, Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane told PC Cullen: “You can now leave the court and go back to work.”