A Northumbria Police officer has been dismissed after throwing punches at a grandfather and pushing his own wife in the face following a road collision.
PC Jonathan Pattison attended the scene after another vehicle collided with the rear of a car being driven by his wife on June 3, 2025.
The other driver had his eight-year-old grandson with him at the time.
A police misconduct hearing was told Pattison, who had completed 24 years of service, arrived at the scene and reportedly said: “You can’t have anything nice these days, look at the state of my car.”
When his wife attempted to speak to him, Pattison pushed her out of the way before attempting to assault the other driver.
Footage recorded by a member of the public showed Pattison throwing punches at the man. It also captured him using force to push his wife away as she attempted to de-escalate the confrontation.
The hearing was told that the driver did not retaliate and instead tried to calm the situation, saying: “Pack it in, the grandbairn is there.”
Pattison was arrested and taken into police custody, where he admitted that he had been drinking wine.
On March 12, 2026, he was convicted at York Magistrates’ Court of assaulting the driver. He was ordered to pay a £1,200 fine and £500 in compensation.
Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine found that Pattison had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Authority, Respect and Courtesy, as well as Discreditable Conduct.
She concluded that the only appropriate sanction was dismissal without notice, bringing Pattison’s 24-year policing career to an end.