Disgraced former Birmingham policeman loses appeal over convictions for Stirchley pub fight.
By BEN HURST Staff Reporter, 17, May, 2013
A DISGRACED former cop who tried to bite a peacemaker during a pub fight has lost an appeal against his assault convictions.
Ex-Birmingham Pc Paul Norris was sacked by West Midlands Police after he was found guilty of attacking the landlord of the British Oak pub in Stirchley.
He was said to have pushed licensee Tony Madden before launching a “barrage” of punches.
Norris then spat at and tried to bite customer Daniel Wood, who attempted to restrain him as police were called.
The 42-year-old, of Middleton Hall Road, Kings Norton, was convicted by magistrates of two charges of assault and one of disorderly behaviour in January last year.
He was fired soon after.
Now he has lost an appeal over those verdicts at Warwick Crown Court.
Norris – who received a conditional discharge for battery in 2005 after attacking a man in a toilet following an inter-force hockey match – was also ordered to pay the £2,800 costs of the appeal hearing.
Dismissing his application, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones said the public should not foot the bill as Norris had “lost completely”.
The former officer had claimed there was insufficient evidence to convict him following the pub fracas, which happened in August, 2011.
He also alleged the prosecution at his trial had failed to prove that he had not acted in self-defence.
Sarah Allen, defending, said: “He lost his job as a result of this offence.
“He was dismissed in February last year. He is working part-time for a pest control company.”
She said the incident had begun as self-defence but went beyond that.
But the judge responded: “This was not a case of self-defence.”
And he added: “There’s no reason he should not pay the prosecution costs.
“Why should the public pay when he, with his eyes open, has gone into this and lost completely?
