Next time you have a bad day at work, spare a thought for the guy pictured above. The smiling police officer is Pc Jason Mepham and he just had a pretty bad day of work.
Mepham can count himself lucky that he didn’t drown in a vat of chocolate and that he wasn’t permanently maimed – aside from that Friday, August 13, 2010 was a terrible day at the office.
Mepham’s misfortune started when he was called out to deal with a drunk troublemaker. When he arrived at the scene the suspect, Jason King, was aggressive and threatening – so Mepham gave him a taste of pepper spray to soften him up. The first spray briefly stopped King in his tracks, the second blew back into Mepham’s own face… and left him disoriented.
A fellow officer arrived on the scene, but not before one of King’s friends jumped into the mix, kicking Mepham in the face and dislocating his jaw. The second officer fired his taser and the second attacker – one electrode struck him, the other caught Mepham and knocked him to the ground.
King took advantage of the accidental tasing and kicked the downed officer in the head – which was lucky for Mepham as it knocked his dislocated jaw back into place – at which point other officers arrived on the scene. King and his friend were quickly subdued. Mepham went to hospital but was back at the police station that evening doing paperwork.
He said:
I felt my jaw go to the side of my face and then my head followed. I had terrible shooting pains. It’s quite amusing when I look back at it now, but at the time it was horrific.
I was frightened at the time, but I can see the funny side of it – particularly as it happened on Friday 13th.
Jason King pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer, being drunk, two charges of traveling on the railway without paying a fare, and two of threatening behavior towards a train manager via video link from Exeter Prison, at Truro magistrates Court. His case has been adjourned until September 21. [Telegraph]
