A white cop, who was fired for attacking a 15-year-old black boy and a black cyclist while on duty, was found dead at his parents' home on December 28. PC Declan Jones, 30, was sacked by West Midlands Police after he was found guilty of assaulting the aforementioned two black males by a district judge in August. Jones was found lifeless by his mother and father at his home in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
In April 2020, Declan Jones was recorded on CCTV assaulting a 44-year-old black cyclist. The video showed Jones punching and kicking the cyclist before smashing his face onto the bonnet of a patrol vehicle in Birmingham. Not only this but less than 24 hours later, he was recorded again thrashing a 15-year-old black boy after wrongly accusing him of possessing drugs in the Newtown area of the city.
A West Mercia Police spokesperson noted that officers were called to Jones' home in Worcestershire following reports of concern for the welfare of a man in his 30s. The man, identified as Declan Jones, was declared dead at 12:45 pm. The spokesperson noted that police don't believe that a third party is involved in Jones' death and that most likely he killed himself. The cause of death is not known at the moment. An investigation into the incident is going on.
PC Declan Jones was found guilty of using 'unlawful force'
During his trial in Coventry Magistrates Court earlier this year, a security camera footage of PC Jones was produced that showed him grabbing a black cyclist Michael Rose, 44, off his bicycle in the middle of the street in Aston, Birmingham, on April 20, 2020.
Jones suspected him of having stolen his phone. While a female officer held Rose down, Jones punched him in the back and banged his head on the bonnet of the vehicle. The physical assault went on for a while. Several passers-by even appealed to the officer to stop.
Jones was filmed the next day kicking the 15-year-old black boy while on the ground. He was found guilty of using unlawful force during his encounters with the teen and the cyclist. After the guilty verdicts, Jones was dismissed without notice from the force.
Another trial
Jones, however, was not found guilty of misconduct over the discrimination allegations made by the victims in an investigation conducted by the Independence Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). He was released from prison in December.
According to DailyMail, Jones was facing another trial in November next year for yet another alleged assault. He was accused of causing bodily harm to a person with a taser. Jones denied the charge against him.
