Moment cop punches driver in the face & wrestles him to ground in ‘road rage row’ as horrified partner watches on
SHOCKING footage shows the moment a cop punches a driver in the face before wrestling him to the ground as his horrified wife watched on.
Inspector Jonathan Mellor, from Lincolnshire Police, was accused of punching Shane Price, during a physical confrontation caught on camera.
In the video Mellor can be seen hitting Price in the face, stamping on his foot, and using foul language, telling him: “I’m going to take you to the f***ing ground” and “You’ve been f***ing pulled, haven’t you?”
The incident, which took place in May 2021, led to Insp Mellor being charged with common assault, but he was found not guilty in May 2022.
But the cop will still face an internal misconduct hearing over a road rage incident – despite assurances from senior officers.
Following the verdict, senior officers stated that there would be no internal misconduct proceedings against Mellor, and if he wasn’t retiring soon, he would return to operational duties.
However, he is now set to face a misconduct panel, accused of using excessive and deliberate force, and behaving in a disrespectful, abusive, and threatening manner that breached professional standards.
At the start of the hearing, Mellor’s lawyer, Hunter Gray, argued that it would be unfair to subject Insp Mellor to further proceedings.
The panel was told the case was reopened after the complainant appealed the decision not to pursue disciplinary action.
However, the complainant later withdrew support and was absent from the hearing.
Despite this, the panel ruled that the case should continue, with the chair, Jennifer Ferrario, telling Mellor that while they had some sympathy for him, the public interest and legal framework outweighed any prejudice to him.
The criminal case had earlier heard that Mellor, 52, was on duty at the time of the May 26 2021 incident.
He was driving his personal vehicle, wearing a police uniform beneath a civilian jacket.
Prosecutor Mark Fielding explained that Price’s driving had irritated Mellor, who took a photo of him in his truck.
Insp Mellor, who was driving his own personal car, wore a police uniform but was “anonymised” by a zipped-up civilian jacket over the top.
In six minutes of footage captured by Mr Price’s wife, who was a front-seat passenger, their truck is seen to catch up with Insp Mellor’s vehicle and then draw alongside it in the outside lane.
The incident escalated when the now-retiring cop stopped on a slip road, and Price approached him.
A physical altercation was then sparked, with Insp Mellor claiming he punched Price in self-defence after fearing an attack.
Mr Price then gets out of the truck and approaches Insp Mellor, who was carrying a police radio.
The two men can be seen talking before Insp Mellor is seen pushing Mr Price towards a fence on the grass verge.
Mrs Price then lowers the passenger side window so the conversation can be heard.
Insp Mellor uses his radio to ask for back-up and gave his location as “the A1”.
Mr Price then said: “This is the A46, mate.”
Mr Price is heard repeatedly asking the officer to take his hand off his throat.
When Mellor did not alter his hand position – later ruled by the judge to be on the shoulder – Mr Price pushed it away, at which point Insp Mellor punched him.
Price claimed that he did not know Mellor was a police officer and believed he was a security guard.
But Insp Mellor insisted he had identified himself as the duty inspector for the area.
The former cop said he struck him because he feared he was going to be assaulted by Mr Price, who had taken a step towards him.
He said the blow and the stamp on Mr Price’s injured foot was to help him regain control of the situation.
The pair then grappled with Mr Price repeatedly shouting: “What are you doing?”
He was then taken to the ground and complained of not being able to breathe as Mellor laid on him.
Mrs Price can be heard on the footage making a 999 call to police to report the assault on her husband.
Mr Price told the court that when further officers arrived they were “laughing and joking” with the inspector.
Insp Mellor told the court that his punch to Mr Price’s cheek was not delivered with full force.
“It was to shock, not to incapacitate,” he added.
He denied losing his temper. When asked why he used foul language he replied: “From nearly 30 years of experience, I know it’s better to speak to people in the vernacular they understand.”
Insp Mellor was also asked why he had decided to use the emergency button on his radio for the first time in his long career.
The cop replied: “Because, at the time, I was a 52-year-old man fat man with a heart condition and dealing with someone in their 20s.”
Insp Mellor denied using his mobile phone while driving, saying he had his radio in his hand because he was going to request a Police National Computer check on Mr Price’s vehicle but then “couldn’t be bothered.”
The misconduct hearing, at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, continues.