Football fan who gave 'disgracefully behaved' Pc black eye after match cleared of wrongdoing by jury
A football fan who punched a police officer when trouble flared after a Walsall FC match has been completely cleared of any wrongdoing by a jury.
After deliberating for 37 minutes the jury found Barrow AFC fan Edward Papas not guilty of assaulting Pc Richard Mannox after Barrow's League Two win over the Saddlers on March 4 last year.
The trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Mr Papas, aged 27, was making his way to his car from Bescot Stadium at the same time that stewards were directing visiting fans to waiting coaches, when there was a noisy altercation during which the defendant was pushed then struck repeatedly.
He told the jury he was acting in self defence when he punched the officer, giving him a black eye, which resulted in him being arrested and charged with assault.
Following the verdict Judge Jonathan Gosling praised the jury and said: "The fact that the jury took just 37 minutes to decide is quite telling. I know the police have a difficult job, but the officer's behaviour was disgraceful.
"Not only did Pc Mannox let himself down, he let the force down by his actions and inflammatory language with fans looking on. I'm not inviting any action to be taken against the officer, but I hope he learned a salutary lesson from this case."
The jury was shown images of the incident from the officer's body cam.
Mr Paul Williams, defending Mr Papas, said the stewards did not listen when he tried to explain that he had driven himself to Walsall and was heading to his BMW parked behind the coaches.
He said Papas was pushed by a steward and when he attempted to complain to the police, he was slapped, resulting in his baseball cap being knocked "clean" off his head and causing discomfort as he was recovering from hair replacement treatment.
The prosecution had alleged that the defendant behaved aggressively during the incident.
Mr Papas, who grew up in Lebanon, denied an offence of assaulting an emergency worker and denied an offence of assault by beating relating to the steward. The jury found him not guilty on both counts.
The judge agreed to allow a defence application for reasonable costs limited to travel and accommodation to be awarded from central funds, after hearing the defendant's parents had travelled from abroad to support him during the trial.
Speaking to the Express & Star afterwards Mr Papas, of Manchester, who has no previous convictions said: "I am very happy with the verdict. The Crown Prosecution Service should have seen from the video that I was hit first.
"I was slapped twice and punched once.
"I feel vindicated and I will be making a complaint to West Midlands Police about what happened to me. My good character was under attack."