Northumbria PC attacked man in front of victim's grandson

PC Jonathan Pattison, from Northumbria Police, attacked the driver after his wife was involved in a minor crash, then deliberately shoved her aside when she tried to stop him.

A misconduct hearing found Pattison was the aggressor and had shown “no respect or courtesy” to the driver or his wife.

The report said the driver was trying to calm the situation by telling him to “pack it in, the grandbairn is there”.

But Pattison replied: “I’m not f****** bothered about the grandbairn, look at the state of my f****** car”.

Video footage showed Pattison throwing punches at the driver and using force against his wife as she tried to intervene.

The report said the footage showed him push his wife in the face with an open palm, causing her to recoil, before another deliberate push at the end of the footage.

The hearing rejected Pattison’s claim that he touched his wife accidentally.

The report stated: “These were not blows aimed at the driver that missed and hit PC Pattison’s wife. This is force deliberately used against PC Pattison’s wife to move her out of the Officers way.”

The hearing found she had put herself at risk to protect the driver and Pattison “from his own actions”.

The incident happened shortly before 5.25pm on June 3, 2025, at the junction of Durham Road and Egton Terrace in Birtley, Gateshead.

Pattison’s wife had been involved in a damage-only crash when another vehicle hit the back of her car.

Pattison arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and was heard shouting and swearing at the driver, including calling him a “****” and saying “come on then”, as though he wanted a reaction.

Three members of the public stopped because of the fight and the distressed child. They persuaded the boy to move away before calling police.

The hearing found Pattison was intoxicated at the time, having admitted drinking wine before the incident.

He was later convicted of assaulting the driver at York Magistrates’ Court on March 12, 2026.

He was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay £500 in compensation.

The misconduct hearing found his actions breached professional standards relating to authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.

The report said: “Members of the public would not expect an officer to resort to violence in response to some accidental damage to a car.”

It also described the case as one of “high harm”, saying an officer resorting to violence was “one of the most damaging to the reputation of policing”.

Pattison accepted the first allegation and accepted it amounted to gross misconduct.

The hearing found both allegations proved and ruled that Pattison’s conduct amounted to gross misconduct.

Despite Pattison’s 24 years of service and the incident being described as out of character, the hearing found dismissal was the only appropriate outcome.

The report said: “This is very serious conduct.”

The report added: “The only appropriate sanction in this case is dismissal without notice.”

Pattison’s details should also be added to the Police Barred List.

Pattison has the right to appeal.