By David Barrett
The Sunday Telegraph
A police officer ridiculed after he was filmed smashing his way into a disabled pensioner’s car with his truncheon could get a six-figure payout after winning his case at an employment tribunal.
Mike Baillon claimed he was forced out of his job after a “bullying campaign” by colleagues in Gwent Police, who teased him and wrote comments on his locker at the police station. The torment began after the incident appeared on YouTube, the video sharing website.
Mr. Baillon, who was a constable, was one of two police officers who pulled over Robert Whatley, 74, for failing to wear a seat belt as he drove along roads near Usk in Monmouthshire, South Wales, in 2009.
Mr. Whatley was seated in his car when Mr. Baillon pulled out his truncheon and hit the window 15 times while his colleague climbed on to the bonnet and kicked in the windscreen of the £60,000 Range Rover. Footage of the incident was released from the dashboard camera in Mr. Baillon’s police car. The video quickly went viral on the internet. Reports claimed that it was viewed more than 30million times on YouTube.
Mr. Baillon told an employment tribunal in Cardiff that he was moved from the roads unit to a local policing team after the incident.
However, the “bullying and harassment” he suffered as a result of the video forced him to resign.
The tribunal ruled that he had been unfairly dismissed from the traffic squad after writing a “whistle-blowing” letter to the force raising a number of concerns about the way his case had been handled.
The panel has yet to decide how much compensation Mr. Baillon, 42, should receive, but it is likely to run to six figures because of lost earnings and pension entitlements.
The incident happened after Mr. Whatley was originally pulled over by officers for a minor traffic offence but drove away before they had finished dealing with him.
He was pursued for 17 minutes along country lanes. When the car was finally brought to a halt, the video shows Mr. Baillon running up to the driver’s door with his baton drawn and striking the window repeatedly. He has never publicly explained why he used such force on the vehicle.
After the incident Mr. Whatley, who claimed he thought the officers were giving him a police escort home, was found guilty of not wearing a seat belt, failing to stop, using a vehicle with defective registration plates and having non-standard tinted windows.
The pensioner, who had a disabled driver’s blue badge because he was recovering from a stroke, was fined £235.
However, Mr. Whatley also received £20,750 compensation from Gwent Police for the damage to his car and £45,000 in costs, the employment tribunal heard. The pensioner said at the time: “You would have thought I had robbed a bank. It’s something you might expect in America but not in the quiet of the British countryside.”
Mr. Baillon was investigated for potential criminal offences but no action was taken and he was later exonerated in disciplinary proceedings.
The tribunal heard that after asking to meet a senior officer, Mr. Baillon was told not to go “boring people with a tale of woe as they won’t be interested in it”.
There continued to be “unpleasant comments” from other officers and Mr. Baillon’s locker was defaced in February last year, leading to his resignation a few months later.
Jean Norton, of Ashfords solicitors, who represented the officer, said: “Mr Baillon and his family are incredibly relieved by the positive outcome.
“This matter has caused both him and his family undue stress and financial loss, and the team is delighted to have been able to help Mr Baillon, a conscientious and highly regarded police officer, win this victory.”
Copyright 2013 Telegraph Media Group Limited