ONE RULE FOR THEM ANOTHER FOR EVERYONE ELSE!
ARROGANT PSNI/RUC officer dismissed from service for 'Gross Misconduct' escapes prison term in jail John Fleming was also 'banned from keeping animals (any) for 10-years.
April 1st, 2022.
John Fleming appears at Ballymena Court and was banned from keeping any animal for 10 years.
A PSNI/RUC officer who was dismissed from the police service for 'gross misconduct' pleaded guilty to "two absolutely brutal attacks" on his own dogs has narrowly escaped a prison sentence.
With disgraced former police officer John Fleming standing in the dock of Coleraine Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, District Judge Peter King told the defendant his guilty plea "is what saved you" from a prison sentence.
Describing how his offences were so serious that the custody threshold is "well and truly passed" the judge warned Fleming that his, 200 hours of community service were being imposed as a "direct alternative" to a three-month prison sentence, making clear that if Fleming breached it, "you will be brought back here and resentenced".
Describing how his offences were so serious that the custody threshold is "well and truly passed", the judge warned Fleming that his 200 hours of community service were being imposed as a "direct alternative" to a three-month prison sentence, making clear that if Fleming breached it, "you will be brought back here and resentenced".
"This was a narrow decision as to whether you went into custody or not," said District Judge King, who banned Fleming from keeping any animal for ten years and ordered him to pay £2,000 towards the £12,000 cost of the case.
Afterwards, Superintendent Claire McGuigan, from the PSNI/RUC's Professional Standards Branch, said: "We welcome today's result.
"The former officer's behaviour and conduct fell far short of what the Police Service of *orthern Ireland expects and I hope today's outcome reassures the public that no one is above the law.
"I would encourage anyone who suspects a member of our service of abusing their position, in any manner, to report it to us or to the Police Ombudsman Office. You can be assured that the matter will be investigated thoroughly."
Earlier this year Fleming, whose address was given as c/o Edwards & Co solicitors on Hill Street in Belfast, entered guilty pleas to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to his dogs Ko and Alfie.
The offences arise following an incident on the Craigbrack Road, Eglinton, on January 30th last year which was captured on the dash cam of the vehicle belonging to a concerned member of the public who happened to come across the incident on the quiet country road.
John Fleming appears at Ballymena Magistrates Court.
Opening the facts of the case, prosecuting counsel outlined how the witness saw that Fleming's Alsatian-cross dog Ko had "grabbed a springer spaniel by the back and was shaking it".
With Fleming having kicked Ko until he let go, the Alsatian "cowered before him", but Fleming then bent down, picked Ko up by his head and slammed the dog "hard onto the ground".
The lawyer said it was at this stage the witness turned on his Jeep's ignition and recorded the rest of the incident on dash cam, during which Fleming is seen "continuing to kick at the Alsatian a number of times before the animal gets up and runs back onto the road".
With the video played in open court, Fleming, wearing a yellow high-vi's jacket, can be seen swinging five full-force kicks at Ko, with at least three of them connecting with the terrorised animal, who runs away.
Striding a short distance down the road after Ko, Fleming picks the dog up by its scruff and hindquarters, raising him above head height, Flemings' arms fully stretched, before slamming the poor animal into tarmac.
The video records Fleming doing the exact same thing again, lifting the dog to shoulder/head height and slamming Alfie into the ground as hard as he can, but the footage is cut off when a vehicle drives in front of the camera, obscuring Fleming.
Prosecuting counsel said while there was no audio on the recording, according to the witness he "blasted the car horn and shouted something along the lines of 'stop beating that dog", but Fleming's reaction was to turn around and begin "shouting and posturing aggressively".
There were "confrontational words exchanged" between the men, with Fleming trying to open the vehicle door, and when he was told his actions had been recorded, he told the witness: "I don't give a f****."
Council and police officers went to Fleming's home a few days later where a vet noticed that while both animals were friendly and good-natured, Alfie the staff ie "did appear to be slightly sore when sitting and rising and was assessed as having a mild weight-bearing lameness in his right leg with a superficial wound".
A third dog was also seized and has been signed over and rehomed.
Turning back to Fleming's offences, the court heard that when he was questioned about the incident he claimed his actions were "proportional".
Fleming claimed: "Obviously I am remorseful that I had to hit my dogs... [but] I wouldn't have acted if I didn't think that they weren't correct... Do I regret acting? No... It's the circumstances I regret that it even happened."
When the witness' account was put to him, Fleming "Laughed throughout" that portion of the interview and accused the witness "of a public order offence".
Defence counsel Eoghan Devlin revealed that, just two days ago, Fleming had been dismissed from the PSNI/RUC "as a result of these proceedings", so not only had he suffered the ignominy of finding himself in the dock, but he has also lost "what was a very promising career".
He told the court that setting aside Fleming's attitude during his council interviews, he has expressed "genuine remorse" and, although he conceded "there's no doubt" the threshold for a jail sentence has been passed and that "it's a knife-edge decision," he urged the judge to look at direct alternatives to sending Fleming to prison.
"This conviction will hang over him for the rest of his life, a tragedy that he has authored by his own hand," said Mr Devlin.
Sentencing Fleming, District Judge King told the disgraced former police officer that, as a man who had been an "exemplary public servant, it doesn't give the court any pleasure to see you standing in the dock of a criminal court".
Having outlined how the maximum sentence is 12 months in jail at magistrates level and five years at Crown Court, the judge left Fleming in no doubt that had he not confessed, "I'm afraid this would have been immediate custody".
District Judge King said that while sending Fleming to prison "may send a strong message to the community at large that this behaviour will not, and could not, be accepted", jailing him would not be a "fair disposal".
Imposing the CSO and the ten-year banning order, the judge allowed Fleming six months to to pay back the £2,000 costs order.
With many thanks to the: Belfast Telegraph for the original publication.
Follow these links to find out more on this story and to watch the video attached: Former PSNI/RUC Police Officer filmed attacking dogs avoids jail after saying he had 'No Regrets'!
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