A Metropolitan police officer from Medway has been jailed for eight months after he was convicted of smashing a student’s tooth out during the tuition fee protests in London.

PC Andrew Ott was on duty during the demonstrations in the capital in 2010, when he struck a demonstrator with his riot shield, knocking his tooth out.

Ott, from Rochester, and two officers were also accused of concocting a reason to falsely arrest the student, but were cleared of perverting the course of justice.

PC Andrew Ott has been sentenced

Ott, 36, who grew up in Borstal village and was a pupil at the former Borstal Manor Junior School, in Warwick Crescent, but now lives in Mount Road.

He was found guilty of causing actual bodily harm at Southwark Crown Court yesterday.

Ott and the other two officers, PC Calvin Lindsay, 31, from east London, and PC Thomas Barnes, 31, from Greenhithe, were accused of concocting a reason to falsely arrest the student after he was injured, but all three were cleared of perverting the course of justice by the jury.

The court were told student William Horner, 20, had been trying to leave a kettled area during the protest in Parliament Square, Westminster, when he was struck.

Students protested against tuition fee hikes. Picture: BillyH.

All three officers had been on restricted duties during the court proceedings and Ott was locked up this morning for eight months.

Now, the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has revealed that all three officers do have cases to answer for gross misconduct and will face disciplinary hearings.

A spokesman for the IPCC, said: “A Metropolitan Police Service officer has been convicted of causing actual bodily harm during a student protest in December 2010, following an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation.

"The IPCC investigation found that all three officers have a case to answer for gross misconduct and they will now face disciplinary hearings, which will be carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service.

PC Andrew Ott has been convicted of assault

“All three officers were policing the protest on 9 December, when a 20-year-old student suffered a damaged tooth while he was being detained by PC Ott.

"The Metropolitan Police referred the matter, including a complaint made by the student, to the IPCC.”

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service added: “I can confirm PC Andrew Ott was jailed for eight months and has been suspended from duties.

"The other two officers, PC Lindsay and PC Barnes, are still on restricted duties pending the outcome of their disciplinary hearings."

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