Charlie Harrison, 39, was sentenced in Southwark Crown Court, London, on Monday for seriously injuring, Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
His sentencing follows a five-day trial last month during which he was convicted of majority sentencing, police added.
Harrison, who worked on the Task Force on Violent Crimes, was in plain clothes as he got out of his unmarked police car and approached Carl Abrahams and his two sons in Newham, east London, on December 31, 2018, according to Judge Greg Perrins’ sentencing remarks. by CNN.
Abrahams took his sons, 13 and 16, to visit their mother’s grave at Manor Park Cemetery and was walking home when Harrison approached and blocked their path, according to the judge’s remarks.
Abrahams told the court he did not know Harrison was a police officer. He pushed past him and kept walking, at which point Harrison kicked his leg and hit him on the ground, Perrins said.
The court documents said Abrahams sustained a fracture to the knee and had to give up football and running due to the injury.
The judge said Abrahams and his sons did nothing wrong and did not act suspiciously.
“After hearing the evidence during the trial, I strongly suspect that the reason you stopped Mr Abrahams and his sons was because they were black,” Perrins said. ‘As mnr. Abrahams and his sons were white, I suspect you would simply drive on. ‘
Abrahams’ sons “are afraid of the police and believe that three years later they are in danger of being targeted because of the color of their skin”, the remarks continue.
Police said Harrison was suspended from service and will be subject to disciplinary action.
“His actions were found to be well below the standard we expect from our police officers, with a man seriously injured,” police commander Paul Betts said in the statement.
“This kind of behavior has no place in our police service and undermines the trust of the communities we have to protect here,” Betts added.
Perrins admitted that Harrison’s career in the police force is now over.
“I accept that it is difficult for you,” the judge said. “However, it is nobody’s fault but your own.”
In 2020, UK government data showed that between April 2018 and March 2019, there were 38 stops and searches for every 1,000 black people in England and Wales, compared to four for every 1,000 white people.
And an exclusive poll by CNN / Savanta ComRes found that black people in the UK are twice as likely as white people to say they have not been treated with respect by the police.