A Police Sergeant has been demoted after he threw three punches at a man arrested over a Watford town centre dispersal order.

PS Peter Glover was found to have committed gross misconduct by using excessive force when handcuffing Alex Halifax prior to searching him.

He was demoted to the level of police constable following a misconduct hearing held by Herts Police.

Mr Halifax had been brought into the police station by PS Glover’s colleagues in February 2023 after breaking a dispersal order telling him to avoid Watford town centre, the misconduct panel heard.

The report said that Mr Halifax had been drinking, and his behaviour on the way to the police station – which included “banging his head” on the inside of the van – was described as “difficult, erratic and disruptive”.

PS Glover, who was working as Custody Sergeant, decided it was necessary to search Mr Halifax, whose handcuffs had earlier been removed by an officer when he arrived at the station.

The panel concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that PS Glover had punched Mr Halifax three times in the head while he was on a bed in a cell. It said the punches were not “necessary, proportionate or reasonable”.

PS Glover had denied using excessive force, and the panel concluded that other actions used by PS Glover in the process of handcuffing Mr Halifax – such as using his knee to strike Mr Halifax’s side and dragging his knee down Mr Halifax’s back – were not examples of excessive force.

The panel’s report said PS Glover’s “failure to make any attempt to de-escalate is disappointing”, and added there was a “concern” about a “lack of direct communication from the officer to the detainee” just before the “unexpected” use of force began.

The panel “found no evidence” of injuries to Mr Halifax. It also dismissed an allegation that PS Glover had been “insensitive, rude and unkind”.

He had not allowed Mr Halifax to phone his daughter, but the panel concluded there was no right to such a call and there was no “duty of kindness”.

Its report said PS Glover’s judgement was “flawed” and “he had a mistaken but genuine belief that what he did was not wrong”.

Imposing the demotion rather than a dismissal, the panel concluded Glover is not “fundamentally unfit” to be an officer, but had “fallen short with regards to judgement and management in a supervisory role”.

The panel also found there was a “lack of reasonable instructions” from PS Glover to his colleagues in the station.

Its report said the other officers did not have a “proper understanding” of what was happening and that this potentially put them “at risk”.