Five Met officers in court over Christmas party brawl
Kellsey Millar, 32, Jack Sparkes, 34, Max Michaels-Dubois, 33, Daniel Dean, 38, and Alex Fackerell, 31, all attached to the Metropolitan Police's Territorial Support Group, had been drinking heavily before they boarded a river boat for their Christmas party on December 1, 2023.
When it docked later that evening the group headed to the Southbank in central London.
Alex Fackerell
JACK TAYLOR FOR THE TIMES
Daniel Dean
JACK TAYLOR FOR THE TIMES
Jack Sparkes
JACK TAYLOR FOR THE TIMES
Inner London crown court was told that Fackerell got into a fight with a group of Romanian men and had his 'head busted open' after being hit with a bottle, kicked and stamped on.
While he was being treated at Las Iguanas restaurant a different group of Romanians walked past and asked if he was OK. His colleagues allegedly became 'aggressive' and began fighting with the group, the jury was told.
CCTV showed some of the male defendants allegedly throwing punches and pushing a man, 'causing [him] to go backwards sharply'. The violent scenes lasted three-and-a-half minutes.
Millar was blocked from entering the restaurant and allegedly grabbed Jheanelle Samuels, a female security guard, and 'kneed her in her left thigh'. Samuels punched the officer in the eye in self-defence to 'get her grip off me' in accordance with her training, she said.
Millar, Sparkes, Michaels-Dubois, Dean and Fackerell deny affray. Millar has pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Samuels gave evidence on Tuesday and said her role was to 'keep everyone safe and make sure there are no intoxicated people coming inside'.
She was aware it was 'Great Union Day', a Romanian national holiday, because several members of the public were draped in the country's flag.
She spotted an injured Fackerell and allegedly overheard him say: 'I started on one of them and I didn't know there were more and they jumped in.' She said this 'gave me the assumption that's how he got his head injury'.
Samuels ran to get a first aid kit and said three Romanians — two men and a woman — walked past and asked Fackerell if he was OK. Samuels said some of the officers had an 'aggressive reaction' and asked 'were you the ones who did it?' before punches were thrown.
Samuels told the court: 'I saw the Romanians were outnumbered. I thought it was unfair for them to be beaten up so I tried to defuse the situation … I said: 'Stop — get off him. Leave him alone.'' But there were 'multiple fights' and 'one of them had a Romanian in a headlock', the security guard added.
Millar allegedly grabbed Samuels and screamed: 'No.'
Philip Stott, for the prosecution, asked Samuels what happened and she said Millar 'pushed me back and then she grabbed me and kneed me in my left thigh'.
Michaels-Dubois allegedly barged through the group and asked 'What happened?' before he 'shoved' Samuels. She continued: 'I tried to walk away and he kept trying to follow me. [A] witness to the incident had to create a distance between me and him.'
Stott asked the security guard how she felt. 'I was in serious pain. I was limping and had to retreat,' she said. 'At that point I saw they were beginning to scatter. I believe they had heard the police had been called.'
Samuels, who is 5ft 2in tall, had martial arts training when she was younger but said she no longer uses it. She is an accredited guard by the Security Industry Authority, the court was told.
Kevin Molloy, the barrister representing Sparkes, asked during cross-examination: 'Were you taught to punch people in the face as part of your training?'
Samuels replied: 'We are told we can self-defend if necessary.'
The trial continues.
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