A police officer has been sacked after he punched an autistic man and knelt on his head.

PC Oliver Downing, of Thames Valley Police, was sent to the scene of a fight at a petrol station in Slough on March 8, 2022, where two white men and a black man had been seen fighting.

A 19-year-old autistic man and his father were travelling home from school along Long Readings Lane in Slough when PC Downing and two other officers began following them in a marked police vehicle. No sirens or blue lights were activated during the encounter.

The father pulled his car over to the curbside, as the police vehicle had been “almost bumper to bumper” with his car.

PC Downing and the other officers approached the nearside rear passenger seat of the vehicle where the man was sat. 

PC Downing used a TASER to ‘red dot’ the man before commanding him to “get out of the car now” and “show your hands”.

Once out of the car PC Downing punched the man twice to his head and then took him "quickly and roughly" to the gravelled ground.

The officers placed their weight on him and continued to demand that he show his hands; which were trapped beneath his body.

PC Downing then placed his knee on the man's head and punched his body.

The concerned father approached officers to ask them to stop but was pushed back by PC Downing who also then extended his baton.

The officer punched the father in his back and placed handcuffs on him, accusing him of obstructing the officers.

At the time, PC Downing believed the two victims to have been involved in the original fight - but were found to be innocent and freed.

PC Downing had been a police officer since 2015 with the Metropolitan Police before transferring to Thames Valley Police in 2018.

The family were left "deeply distressed" by the incident and turned to Duncan Lewis’ Actions Against Public Authorities team, which managed to build a case against PC Downing.

After a five-day misconduct hearing, the force used was found to be unnecessary, disproportionate and unreasonable.

The officer was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour and thereafter culpable of gross misconduct. 

The Appropriate Authority submitted that PC Downing lost self-control and professionalism “at the heat of the moment”.

On February 23, 2024, the Legally Qualified Chair found that PC Downing’s actions and behaviours amount to a gross misconduct and a breach of Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Use of Force and Discreditable Conduct.

PC Downing was dismissed without notice and barred from police service. 

Duncan Lewis’ Christine Dela Cruz said on behalf of Actions Against Public Authorities: “We are delighted that some measure of justice has been service for our clients in the case as this was clearly a brutal, unnecessary assault, which was deeply distressing for them at the time.

“The public rightly expects officers to conduct themselves with integrity and respect, tasked as they are with our protection and service.

"Unfortunately, in this instance, the officer not only failed to meet these expectations but also tarnished the reputation of the force and diminished public trust."

The family added: “We are pleased with the outcome of the misconduct hearing nobody should have to go through what we have.

"Everyone deserves to be treated fairly, equally, with respect, even people that have fallen foul of the law.

"Public safety must and has to come first every time."