Cheshire PC charged with assaulting 80-year-old man in custody in Runcorn

A Warrington-based police constable has been charged with assault by beating after an IOPC investigation into contact with an 80-year-old man in custody.

Cheshire officer faces assault charge after elderly man suffers stroke in custody

A Cheshire Police officer has been charged with assaulting an 80-year-old man who was held in custody in Runcorn, bbc.co.uk reports.

PC Benjamin Betts, based in Warrington, is due to appear at Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates' Court on Thursday, charged with assault by beating.

The charge follows an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into the force's handling of the man at the North Cheshire Custody Facility. The IOPC examined the use of force during part of his detention after he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

The man was arrested shortly after 23:30 on 7 December 2025 and arrived at the custody facility in the early hours of the following morning. At 06:00, staff reported he was having a seizure. He was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered he had suffered a stroke.

A separate IOPC investigation into the actions of officers involved in the man's arrest, detention, and the response to his medical episode is continuing.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)