A Swansea custody sergeant sacked for hitting a handcuffed man has won more than £43,000 from South Wales Police, after a tribunal ruled the force encouraged witnesses to change statements that backed him.
Rhodri Davies was on duty at Swansea Central police station in October 2022 when he took Tariq Evans to the floor and struck him three times.
He was dismissed for gross misconduct in January 2025. That decision still stands, and he remains barred from policing.
But an employment tribunal in Cardiff found the force victimised him while it was investigating what happened. An award of £43,180 followed at a further hearing earlier this month, Proper Cardiff reported.
Witnesses encouraged to change their stories, and a complaint South Wales Police never heard
Mr Davies represented himself at an eight-day hearing in July before Employment Judge Moore and two panel members. They upheld five of his complaints.
One was that in November 2023 the force “encouraged witnesses to change their supportive statements” to his detriment.
The other four all concern a formal complaint, known as a grievance, that he lodged in March 2023 while he was under investigation.
No grievance meeting was held, and within six weeks the force had decided to “de register” it altogether.
His appeal was not properly investigated and was then deregistered as well, the tribunal found.
Victimisation, in employment law, means treating someone badly because they have complained of discrimination or brought a claim.
Mr Davies had brought an earlier discrimination claim against the force, which is reported to have been settled without any admission of wrongdoing. He argued that was why he was treated unfairly this time.
Seven other complaints were thrown out. Among them were his case that the misconduct notice served on him was biased, and that he was singled out when other officers also used force.
The tribunal did not rule on whether his treatment of Mr Evans was justified.
Handcuffed, spun to the floor and struck three times at Swansea Central
Mr Evans had been arrested in Morriston on 24 October 2022 and was still handcuffed behind his back when he reached the custody desk.
A misconduct panel later watched the CCTV and body-worn video. It found the sergeant spun him to the ground and struck him three times as he lay face down.
The takedown was “particularly dangerous” because Mr Evans could not put out his hands to break his fall, the panel said.
In the cell, it found, Mr Davies used a “c-clamp” hold across the back of his neck and knee strikes that were not justified.
Mr Davies denied breaching any standard. He said Mr Evans had tensed and forced his arms down, and that he feared his own arm was going to snap.
That account was rejected as “an invention”. The panel concluded he had lost his temper.
It accepted Mr Evans had been violent before he reached the station and was verbally aggressive at the desk. At 6ft 6in and 17 stone, he was “a challenging prisoner”, it said.
Twenty years in South Wales Police, ended by eight minutes on camera
Chairman Christopher Mckay’s panel said Mr Evans was “treated with unjustified violence” and called what happened to him “deplorable”. A police station, it said, is supposed to be a safe place.
Mr Davies joined the force in 2004 and had no previous disciplinary findings. He produced 11 character references.
But the panel said he had shown no insight into his behaviour, and dismissed him without notice.
Only one of the officers who saw the incident raised it, more than two weeks later. The others had not been prepared to criticise the sergeant “out of a misguided sense of loyalty”, the panel said.
Mr Davies appealed to the Police Appeals Tribunal, which ruled earlier this year that his dismissal should stand.
Another officer, PC Jack Williams, was jailed for punching Mr Evans in the police van on the way to the station.
‘We accept the finding’: the force and its £43,180 bill
The award is made up of £33,700 for injury to feelings and £9,480 in interest, according to Proper Cardiff.
A South Wales Police spokesperson told Proper Cardiff: “We accept the finding of the employment tribunal and will reflect on the judgment in further detail to ensure our processes are in line and to the standards expected.”
Mr Davies is not the Dyfed-Powys Police constable of the same name who was dismissed last month.
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