Shopper accused of assaulting police near the former Disney store in Bluewater after being asked to wear a mask was found not guilty

A customer accused of assaulting two Bluewater police officers after being asked to put on a mask has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

A jury found Sam Francis not guilty of assault after PS Corwell and PC Carter were injured at Kent’s largest shopping complex during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 34-year-old businessman visited Greenhithe town center on September 12, 2020, to collect a present for his mother’s birthday the following day.

Around the same time, epidemic rules were introduced, including wearing a mask in public places and maintaining social distancing.

At the time, the rules said you didn’t need a face mask if you had a valid reason, but police had the power to order someone to wear one, and to order someone to leave a public space if they didn’t follow the rules.

Francis was the first person to be charged in Kent for refusing to wear a mask, with the case taken to the Magistrates’ Court.

A trial at Maidstone Crown Court earlier this month heard how PS Corwell stopped Francis near the former Disney store and told him to turn around and buy a mask.

Giving evidence, self-employed Francis, who had parked in a nearby M&S car park, said: “I told him, ‘Thanks, I’m fine, I’ll leave’.”

PS Corwell gave a slightly different version of events when he addressed the court last week (October 14), maintaining that Francis told him he was “not sick” and “had a mask in his pocket.”

The officer asked Francis to leave the scene and that’s when “it started” and he was allegedly “forced to the ground,” with the incident captured on camera by a bystander and posted on the social networking site TikTok.

PS Corwell said: “I was humiliated on the ground. I was knocked out by a younger man who took me by surprise. “He attacked me.”

Immediately afterwards, the police sergeant was assisted by residents, including off-duty officer Christian Nevin, who carried the defendant outside through the Marks & Spencer store and close to the car park.

Bluewater security also joined them after PS Corwell radioed for help.

Francis told the court how he was forced to the ground and had his legs “cut off” before several people held him down and tried to stop him.

The jury was shown footage of the incident with his body, showing half a dozen people holding him in place.

The defendant told the court how he was “in shock” after being arrested and that while he was being dragged to the ground, handcuffed and strapped around his legs, there were times when he found it “hard to breathe”.

Both PS Corwell and PC Carter explained how, when stopping Francis, they gave him “distracting blows” to his leg in an attempt to stop him flailing and calm him down.

John McNally, defending, suggested that Francis did not push PS Corwell and as a result the officer slipped and fell. He said, “He didn’t push you or try to push you.”

Questioning the officer, McNally added: “You judged Mr. Francis to be disobedient because he didn’t do what you asked him to do. He told you he was leaving and leaving, but you never offered him the option.

“As you were walking to the door with him you grabbed him and tried to pull him and he fell to the floor. You had to justify what you did.

“The person who knocked you to the floor was yourself. He didn’t do anything bad to you.”

PC Nevin, who was shopping with his mother at the time, told the court he heard a “commotion” before witnessing the man “shove the officer in the chest with his hand”.

He added that he did not see the officer fall to the ground when he looked away to explain to his mother that he would go to help, but he did see him get up from the floor.

The officer approached before grabbing the defendant and added: “I saw his face got red and he was angry. He was tense.”

Answering questions from his defense lawyer, Francis described in detail how he was left with bruises and marks from the fight during which he was accused of kicking PS Corwell and injuring his right forearm.

The Chislehurst man said he had no intention of kicking anyone while he was being held down but was “squirming” as he struggled to breathe.

The prosecutor’s office maintains that the fidgeting was an attempt to avoid restriction of freedom.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Stacey-Lee Holland, Francis was asked why he was not wearing a mask that day. He replied, “I didn’t think it was necessary.”

Ms Holland cited evidence given by PS Corwell who said Francis told him he had a mask in his pocket and his own defense statement in which he said he “didn’t want to wear it” contradicted his evidence.

The prosecutor said he acted “belligerent and contemptuous” when PS Corwell asked him to put on a mask, leading to the incident.

Francis denied this, saying he didn’t know you needed a mask, and told the officer he was happy to leave.

Last week, a jury found him not guilty.