A POLICE officer from Mangotsfield has been convicted of “horrendous” domestic abuse offences following a five-week trial.
PC Mitchell Curtis, aged 34, was found guilty by jurors at Gloucester Crown Court of two counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, one of intentional suffocation and one of criminal damage.
He was released on bail and will be sentenced on a date to be confirmed.
A senior Avon & Somerset officer said Curtis was “both abusive and highly manipulative”, and the prosecution showed that “no police officer is above the law”.
Police said the offences occurred in South Gloucestershire while Curtis, of Charnhill Drive, was off-duty.
The jury were told Curtis had been physically, emotionally and verbally abusive towards a woman over an 18-month period.
A police spokesperson said Curtis was arrested on the day the woman reported what had happened, in October 2022, and suspended while a criminal investigation was carried out.
The spokesperson said: “Our Professional Standards Department has carried out a parallel investigation into Curtis.
“Due to the seriousness of his offences, the criminal trial has taken primacy, and misconduct proceedings will now follow.”
Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said: “We would like to publicly recognise the courage the victim has shown in this case, firstly in reporting what an appalling ordeal Curtis had subjected her to but also for supporting the prosecution to enable these guilty verdicts to be achieved.
“His behaviour towards the victim was both abusive and highly manipulative.
“The seriousness of the offences Curtis committed will leave colleagues within policing shocked and appalled, and it is right he has been brought to justice for these horrendous crimes.
“A wealth of evidence was collated during our seven-month investigation, and yet despite that he still refused to admit to what he had done.
“No police officer is above the law.
“I hope this outcome reassures any victim of crime that we take these matters incredibly seriously and we will always be perpetrator focussed, no matter who the offender is.
“Misconduct proceedings will now be progressed against Curtis, where we will seek to ensure that he is barred from ever working in policing again.”