Police officer to stand trial after being accused of assaulting a teenage football fan has been found dead.

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A police officer in his 20s due to stand trial after being accused of assaulting a teenage football fan has been found dead

PC Richard Sampson, a South Yorkshire Cop, was due to go on trial next month after being accused of assaulting a 16-year-old Sheffield Wednesday fan.

The police officer was charged with unlawful and malicious wounding following an incident in Midland Street, Barnsley, on Saturday, February 8, 2020, in which a boy was allegedly struck with a police baton as he made his way from Oakwell Stadium after watching The Owls play Barnsley FC.

An investigation was mounted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which completed its investigations and referred a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which made the decision to charge the PC.

PC Sampson, known as Billy and who pleaded not guilty to the charge, appeared before both Leeds Magistrates’ Court and Leeds Crown Court for initial hearings over the incident and a five day trial was due to begin on March 7, 2022.

It has been revealed today that PC Sampson was found dead in a property on Thorncliffe Lane, Chapeltown, on Friday afternoon.

South Yorkshire Police said: “We are incredibly saddened by news of Billy’s death.

“Our thoughts remain with Billy’s family and loved ones and they will be offered our full support.”

PC Sampson was on restricted duties at the time.


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A police officer in his 20s due to stand trial after being accused of assaulting a teenage football fan has been found dead

PC Richard Sampson, a South Yorkshire Cop, was due to go on trial next month after being accused of assaulting a 16-year-old Sheffield Wednesday fan.

The police officer was charged with unlawful and malicious wounding following an incident in Midland Street, Barnsley, on Saturday, February 8, 2020, in which a boy was allegedly struck with a police baton as he made his way from Oakwell Stadium after watching The Owls play Barnsley FC.

An investigation was mounted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which completed its investigations and referred a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which made the decision to charge the PC.

PC Sampson, known as Billy and who pleaded not guilty to the charge, appeared before both Leeds Magistrates’ Court and Leeds Crown Court for initial hearings over the incident and a five day trial was due to begin on March 7, 2022.

It has been revealed today that PC Sampson was found dead in a property on Thorncliffe Lane, Chapeltown, on Friday afternoon.

South Yorkshire Police said: “We are incredibly saddened by news of Billy’s death.

“Our thoughts remain with Billy’s family and loved ones and they will be offered our full support.”

PC Sampson was on restricted duties at the time.


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It's the thing with feds when football is on they think everyone is a hooligan and quick to swing their batons around seen it quite a few times and with it been a derby tensions will have been high.
We had it on a demonstration in our local town and seen it 1st hand
 
It's the thing with feds when football is on they think everyone is a hooligan and quick to swing their batons around seen it quite a few times and with it been a derby tensions will have been high.
We had it on a demonstration in our local town and seen it 1st hand

Yea I agree, he could have killed that lad but still a shame he felt his only way out was to end his own life.
Who'd want to be a copper nowadays.
 
Very sad that the young police officer chose to end his life, but that was a cowardly attack on a kid who wasn't even looking the same way. You could see from the reaction of the bystanders how wrong it was. He would have been found guilty and most likely sent to prison for that, and the treatment he'd be subjected to in prison would have been pretty brutal.

Just read the post properly and seen it was Feb 2020, wonder why it's taken so long to get to court?
 
ya it's a very sad end to his life and shows the turmoil he was going through. its a shame really. I feel sorry for police officers sometimes because they are put into positions where they can make bad choices which will land them in serious bother.

I just wonder why he thought he had to go in so hard on the kid in the first place. I suppose he would have got jail but it possibly wouldn't have been an overly long sentence. He could have got though it and start again on his release.
 
Very sad that the young police officer chose to end his life, but that was a cowardly attack on a kid who wasn't even looking the same way. You could see from the reaction of the bystanders how wrong it was. He would have been found guilty and most likely sent to prison for that, and the treatment he'd be subjected to in prison would have been pretty brutal.

Just read the post properly and seen it was Feb 2020, wonder why it's taken so long to get to court?
Is it iccp they call it would have been involved and ran an internal investigation ect I wreckon
Rival fans were fighting apparently.

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even if was fighting still no need for Baton a few officers could've dragged them apart imo
 
A police officer in his 20s due to stand trial after being accused of assaulting a teenage football fan has been found dead

PC Richard Sampson, a South Yorkshire Cop, was due to go on trial next month after being accused of assaulting a 16-year-old Sheffield Wednesday fan.

The police officer was charged with unlawful and malicious wounding following an incident in Midland Street, Barnsley, on Saturday, February 8, 2020, in which a boy was allegedly struck with a police baton as he made his way from Oakwell Stadium after watching The Owls play Barnsley FC.

An investigation was mounted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which completed its investigations and referred a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which made the decision to charge the PC.

PC Sampson, known as Billy and who pleaded not guilty to the charge, appeared before both Leeds Magistrates’ Court and Leeds Crown Court for initial hearings over the incident and a five day trial was due to begin on March 7, 2022.

It has been revealed today that PC Sampson was found dead in a property on Thorncliffe Lane, Chapeltown, on Friday afternoon.

South Yorkshire Police said: “We are incredibly saddened by news of Billy’s death.

“Our thoughts remain with Billy’s family and loved ones and they will be offered our full support.”

PC Sampson was on restricted duties at the time.


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The cracking sound also clear as day on a phone video he went in with brute force not even hesitated
 
even if was fighting still no need for Baton a few officers could've dragged them apart

Definitely. There's no excuse for it. I think sometimes though especially with inexperienced coppers the adrenalin takes over but agree, could have handled better. He's certainly paid for it now.
 
Is it iccp they call it would have been involved and ran an internal investigation ect I wreckon

Still seems an excessive length of time for what from the footage available looked like a pretty open and closed case. I hope the kid made a full recovery as well as feeling sympathy for the officer - a huge mistake that he obviously felt there was no way back from.
 
Still seems an excessive length of time for what from the footage available looked like a pretty open and closed case. I hope the kid made a full recovery as well as feeling sympathy for the officer - a huge mistake that he obviously felt there was no way back from.
I agree bud with hoping the kid makes a full recovery.
Can't say I feel sympathy for the officer as to me it was clear as day his intention of using brute force charging in like that you can see it in the cops face and his career was over and he was going to go to hmp for how ever long.
Even if he didn't take his own life and got sent down he would've had special privelages and screws looking out for him and probably put in a cat C prison.
That is just my personal opinion on it
 
Not sure why he decided that suicide was a better option than a few months inside, maybe something psychological going on, yes he over reacted but this type of thing happened every day in the 70's and 80's and nothing happened.
I'm sure a decent defence team could have put forward the argument he was trying to protect the public, he didn't know the perp was a kid
 
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