Wiltshire police officer given suspended sentence after assaulting 13-year-old while on duty
Body worn video showed PC Daniel Rusling repeatedly swearing at and pushing the boy outside Monkton Park Police Station last October
A Wiltshire police officer has been given a suspended jail sentence for assaulting a 13-year-old boy in Chippenham while on duty.
PC Daniel Rusling admitted to one count of assault by beating during a court appearance last month, and today (30 June) at Bristol Magistrates' Court he received an eight-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months.
He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard the assault took place on October 14th last year (2025) outside Monkton Park police station after the victim, who was among a group of six children, had called 999 asking for help after reporting being threatened by people in a car.
Body Worn Video captured Rusling repeatedly swearing at the child, who was wearing his school uniform, and pushing him several times, in response to him standing in front of his police car.
The child was not injured as a result of the assault.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been overseeing both the criminal and misconduct aspects of the case.
OPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell, said: “The children had been compliant up until the point that the victim, egged on by the other boys, stood in front of the police car to stop it being driven.
“PC Rusling was initially justified in pushing him away from the vehicle, but what happened afterwards was unacceptable and a wholly disproportionate response. His language, body language and attitude were aggressive.
“He repeatedly swore at the boy and at one stage appeared to be encouraging him to fight by saying ‘come on then, you wanna go’.
“The boy had said he was missing from home and showed he was wearing school uniform. He asked to be taken home and from there PC Rusling escalated the situation by placing his hands on him and there was no attempt by the officer to deescalate the situation.
“The judge described it as persistent; it went on and on. It was not just a momentary loss of temper. These children had asked for help but one ended up being assaulted, repeatedly sworn at, and told to get out of the way.
“The way he responded was totally inappropriate when dealing with a boy of that age and his actions will have damaged trust and confidence in policing.”
Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: “Firstly, I want to apologise directly to the victim in this case – a child who was simply asking us to help him. I also want to extend this to his family, all the other children involved and to our wider communities – you absolutely expect better from us and we let you down.
“The actions of Daniel Rusling that morning were criminal – he ignored his fundamental duty to protect a vulnerable person and, instead, used violence and vile language to intimidate and scare him.
“I want to stress that his actions are, in no way, representative of our organisation nor the vast majority of our officers, staff and volunteers who come to work every day with the sole intention of serving our communities.
“We will continue to identify and remove from our organisation anyone with the attitude clearly demonstrated by Daniel Rusling.
“We will also continue to ensure we learn from such appalling matters and make our stance on them unequivocally clear to the rest of our organisation, our partners and our communities.”
An investigation by the IOPC found PC Rusling also had a case to answer for gross misconduct.
Wiltshire Police say an expedited gross misconduct process will now take place regarding Daniel Rusling.