Croydon is not the only policing area which has an officer on duty while they are facing serious criminal charges.
Detective Constable Jose Poonsawat, “attached to the Central South Command Unit”, according to the Metropolitan Police, is due to appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court today charged with sexual assault.
According to a statement issued by the Met’s press office, DC Poonsawat, “is currently on restricted duties”.
Poonsawat is in court in relation “to an incident while the officer was off duty on December 16 2022” – more than 18 months ago.
The Central South Command covers Lambeth and Southwark.
Last month, an officer working in the Croydon policing area, PC Perry Lathwood, was found guilty of assault in a wrongful arrest of a woman bus passenger in Croydon in 2023.
Despite the conviction for assault, Lathwood has not been dismissed or suspended from his duties with the Met.
Following Lathwood’s conviction in the high-profile case, one senior officer described the court’s decision as “huge setback to our ability to rebuild trust with Londoners”.
Community groups – including some Crystal Palace football supporters – filed a formal complaint in respect of Lathwood’s continuing employment by the Met. Videos have emergeed on social media of the constable, while on duty at a match at Selhurst Park, repeatedly using his truncheon on spectators.
“Lathwood’s aggression” in the bus passenger incident, the complaint states, “was not an isolated incident but is reflective of his practice as a police officer.”
At a community meeting in Croydon last month, Ch Supt Andy Brittain, the borough commander for Croydon, told those present that he intends to continue employing the convicted officer on the force, “as punishing him will discourage new recruits”, according to the community groups.
Lathwood remains on full pay and has not faced a fast-track dismissal as is normal procedure following convictions. There have been crowd-funders on social media to raise money for Lathwood to appeal against his conviction.
Now, it emerges, that DC Poonsawat has also continued working for the Met, albeit on “restricted duties”, while awaiting the outcome of his sexual abuse case.
Read more: After five-week delay, police issue appeal over bus stabbing
Read more: CronxWatch returns asking: ‘Where are Croydon’s police?’
Read more: Community groups demand dismissal of convicted Met officer
Read more: Croydon in 2023: London’s borough with most murder victims
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
