What began as an attempt by police to disperse a gathering of teenagers and “get them home to their parents” has, five months later, ended up before a District Judge at Stratford Youth Court.
10.30pm March 2026. A gathering of rowdy teenagers at a property in the E14 area attracts the attention of police officers.
The game plan: not to arrest them, but to “simply get them home to their parents.”
What should have been a simple-to-achieve outcome has ended up with two of the attendees charged with assaulting police officers.
Courtroom 10, where these proceedings unfolded over six hours on a sunny Monday, comes replete with a constant hum of the ventilation system. One of the courtroom doors is propped open with a portable air conditioner, turned off. A handwritten sign “DO NOT USE THIS DOOR” is affixed above it.
A four-foot-high floor fan, legs buckled, cover removed, leans drunkenly against the wall. In anticipation of cooler conditions an oil-filled radiator sits under the barristers’ bench, its power cord disappearing into a nest of cables.
A swivel chair, with a handwritten sign stating “CPS Chair EA Pls do not adjust” messily Sellotaped to the back, completes the scene.
Ms Ajayi, representing the Crown, opened the case. The court was told that about an hour after the police had arrived at the disturbance three of the teenagers, two of whom were now sitting at the back of this courtroom with their mothers, began “playfighting”, prompting police officers to step in and break it up.
Chaos ensued. The court was shown a body-worn video clip of the events that followed.
“What the fuck are you doing” screams one kid. “Do you want to get [pepper] sprayed? Sit down” shouts an officer in response.
“It’s too much for my daughter. She’s got seizures” pleads an adult woman, who lived at the property, and was demanding that calm be restored to her home. “She can’t handle it. She’s got seizures and mental, please” said the mother again.
Responding to a request to remain quiet a juvenile yells “I will fucking shout in your face you piece of shit”. Later, when told to “relax”, the 14-year-old replies “how am I supposed to fucking relax, get off me bro”.
It was during the course of these events that PC Harri Mellish, who gave evidence both in person and in a contemporaneous witness statement, said he had been kicked by the boy seemingly twice on the right leg; only once on the left shin; and “in both my shins with considerable force”.
This “dichotomy” of discrepancies between the three versions were addressed with relish by Mr Alex Calder, the barrister representing the 14 year old boy, whose identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons.
PC Mellish sought to explain the competing accounts of the alleged injury by asserting that the events of March 2026 were a “considerable amount of time ago”. “So, 5 months ago?” replied a seemingly unimpressed Mr Calder who later described the evidence given as “tenuous due to its vagueness.”
It was put to PC Mellish that it was the actions of the police which had escalated matters, rather than the teenagers present. He denied that was the case.
It was difficult to know exactly when the kick(s) was said to have occurred. The video footage neither showed the alleged assault nor did the officer vocalise the point of any apparent impacts – a point raised by the judge. PC Mellish said in response that this was “quite an elevated situation” and his ambition was to “get [the boy] in control and get him in handcuffs.”
The situation was different with the girl, also 14, who depending on which version of events you believe, had either fallen, or had been pushed by an officer onto the bed.
One officer was heard to say “don’t fucking kick me“, but the charge of assault against that officer has been discontinued, we were told.
During the playback of the video footage of the incident the girl’s mother sat crying at the back of the courtroom. “It’s traumatising” she said.
PC Lucy Moyler, who also gave evidence in court, was seen in the video proceeding to arrest the girl for assaulting a police officer. She said she had sustained a kick in her abdomen with a force of about “8 or 10”. “I was forced backwards from her kicks” we were told.
“At no point do you make any indication that you were in pain” pointed out Ms Sofia Napolitano, the barrister representing the girl, confirming that there was no visible injury to her.
We were told it was an agreed fact that the girl accepted she had kicked the officer, but this was done in self-defence.
Further body worn video footage was played in court. “I’m going to arrest her for criminal damage because she is a fucking bitch” PC Lucy Moyler was heard to say about the 14-year-old girl.
The girl, who had been watching from the back of the courtroom, proceeded to wag her finger in a telling off motion at the officer.
Giving evidence to the court the girl exhibited a nervous laugh. District Judge Gennaro Baffa sought to reassure her: “my daughters have the same laugh… I try to tell them off and they just laugh at me. Try not to [laugh], but I won’t hold it against you.”
We were told how the incident had affected her: “I just stay in my room all day… it’s made me tired.” Asked by Ms Napolitano how she felt about police officers she replied “I hate police”. “Do you feel scared?” “Yes”.
The girl said she had kicked PC Moyler “to protect myself”, and outright denied attempting to kick PC Mellish. She admitted swearing at the police, not a matter before the court, because she “felt disrespected”.
Mr Calder said his client, the boy, would not be giving evidence.
Handing down his verdict District Judge Baffa dealt first with the boy.
Confirming that only PC Mellish gave live evidence the judge said “I didn’t find his evidence satisfactory”. Despite now asserting that he had been “kicked multiple times there was no mention of an assault at the time… I find that quite telling” adding the “failure to mention it at the time” was “an odd feature.”
Despite the boys “conduct and behaviour” being described as “appalling and probably embarrassing” this “doesn’t mean he did what PC Mellish said he did.”
Verdict: Not Guilty
The girl was next.
The court found that PC Moyler was a “consistent and credible witness” and accepted her account.
The judge remarked that the body worn footage clearly showed the girl on the bed kicking out and throwing punches. This was not self defence and there was “no need to react in that way”.
The girl had been “given a command and was failing to comply. It was clearly her angry and aggressive state that explained her actions.”
The court was also sure that her angry motions caused PC Mellish to be fearful he would be the subject of violence.
Verdict: Guilty on two counts of assaulting a police officer.
Whilst advising the parties that the sentence would be handed down in 4-weeks time, after completion of reports by the Youth Justice Team, the girl stormed out of the court room.
“I’m not coming to court ever again…. I don’t care” she yelled as the door swung closed behind her.
“Yeah I’ll try”, responded the mum, when asked if she could attempt to bring her back.
Alas it wasn’t to be. The girl had left the building and had been seen walking into Stratford town.
The mother was warned that her daughter “must come [to the sentencing] otherwise the court will issue a warrant for her arrest.”
The court adjourned until September 15th 2026.
Stratford Youth Court
Courtroom 10
10th August 2026
Before District Judge (MC) Baffa
