Merseyside detective dragged PC down stairs

A detective was convicted of assaulting a colleague who tried to arrest him following a heated row with his "fearful" wife.

A police misconduct panel heard Det Con Thomas Edwards, of Merseyside Police's Professional Standards Department (PSD), struggled while he was being detained to prevent a breach of the peace and dragged the female constable down a flight of stairs.

He resigned after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker and obstructing an officer at Manchester Magistrates' Court in September 2025.

The panel, chaired by Chief Constable Rob Carden, determined Edwards would have been sacked for gross misconduct had he remained on the force.

Edwards worked within the force's Professional Standards Department (PSD), which investigates complaints and allegations of misconduct against its officers.

Carden said two PCs had been called to an address at 03:38 GMT on 2 February last year by Edwards' wife, who expressed concerns for his safety after they had a row and he drove away.

Edwards was found at another address. When he answered the door, he shouted "no you're not coming in" and slammed the door in one constable's face.

However, the officers made their way into the house and took hold of Edwards at the top of a flight of stairs.

The panel heard he "suddenly lunged down the stairs" and dragged one of the officers behind him.

He continued to struggle as he was arrested by her colleague for assaulting an emergency worker and said: "No, no, I've done nothing wrong."

Medical information showing the nature of the officer's injuries was shared with the panel but not published. Their identity was also redacted.

The panel heard Edwards' wife appeared to be "fearful" of him and there had been reports he had thrown a chair across the room.

Carden said the detective had made the "right decision" by resigning.

"By assaulting your colleagues this has the potential to massively discredit the police service and undermine public confidence in it," he wrote.

"This is even more amplified by the fact that you worked within Professional Standards."

Edwards is due to be sentenced for the criminal charges at Manchester Magistrates' Court later this month.

The misconduct panel's ruling means Edwards will be added to the College of Policing barred list prohibiting him from working in any policing role in future.

Det Ch Supt Sabi Kaur, head of PSD, said: "This officer's conduct was wholly unacceptable.

"His criminal convictions for assault and obstruction made it clear that his continued service as a police officer was untenable."

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