Man accused of assaulting parking attendant makes complaint over police probe

A man found not guilty of assaulting a parking attendant has had a complaint over police handling of the case upheld by a watchdog.

Police Scotland has been ordered to carry out further enquiries into the incident after it was found their handling of the case was not held to a reasonable standard by the Police Investigation Review Commissioner.

The complaint was made after the applicant and a parking attendant reported each other to Police Scotland for assault, following an altercation between the pair.

A statement confirmed the parking attendant spoke with officers a few hours after the incident.

The applicant attended his local police station later that day to provide further information and showed mobile phone footage of the incident to separate officers.

On June 14, 2023, a report was submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) for common assault, with the applicant as the accused.

The applicant subsequently appeared at court and was found not guilty. 

The applicant lodged a complaint that he was dissatisfied that he was reported by the police for assault, which was not upheld by Police Scotland.

PIRC has found that Police Scotland did not handle the applicant’s complaint to a reasonable standard. 

The watchdog recommended that Police Scotland “address the shortcomings” by conducting further enquiries, and thereafter provide the applicant with a further well-reasoned response which clearly explains the rationale for the conclusions reached.

They added the recommendation should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report. 

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We note the findings of the complaint handling review and will now look to implement the recommendation.”