Police officer 'beat a suspect so badly that his skull was visible' after row over loud music


Mullett

A former police officer launched a 'savage and sustained' attack on a man when a dispute over loud dance music spilled into violence, a court was told.

Robin Mullett, aged 40, is accused of leaving his victim with a gash in his head so deep his skull was visible.

The former constable was said, along with his sister, Nicola, 46, to have confronted Robert Cummings - who lived in a maisonette flat above their mother in Rowley Regis in the West Midlands.

They knocked on the door of the property at around 11.15am on December 22 last year.

But the encounter turned to violence, the court was told, with Mr Mullett, of Stourport- on-Severn in Worcestershire, punching and then stamping on Mr Cummings as he lay curled up in a ball while Miss Mullett, of Brockmoor, Brierley Hill, allegedly kicked him.

Both deny a charge of wounding with intent in relation to Mr Cummings and a charge of common assault against his mother, Laura Cummings. Miss Mullett also denies assault against another man at the scene.

Former policeman Mullett claims he acted in self-defence after Mr Cummings had grabbed him around the throat on the doorstep of the property.

Stuart Lody, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said: 'Whether the purpose was to speak to the occupants or to perpetrate immediate unlawful violence is not necessarily clear. 'But as soon as the door was opened by Laura Cummings, a very violent incident took place.'

He said the attack was the culmination of a noise dispute between the Mulletts’ mother and the Cummings family. The former constable had made complaints on behalf of his mum, who, it was claimed, suffered an angina attack as the result of ‘drum and bass’ music being played too loudly.

Mr Lody said Nicola Mullett forced her way into the Church Road property by jamming her foot in the door. And it was when Robert Cummings responded to his mother’s calls for help that he came under attack from both Robin and Nicola.

'He was subjected to a savage and sustained attack by both defendants, although the main attack was carried out by Robin Mullett. 'He hit Robert Cummings several times to the face who went to the ground and tried to roll up into a ball.

'At that stage he was repeatedly kicked and stamped on, which caused a gash five centimetres in length and which went through to his skull. 'The attack carried on after that. Nicola Mullett kicked Robert Cummings when he was on the ground.'

Giving evidence to the jury of five men and seven women, Mr Cummings said he could do nothing to protect himself from the assault.

He said: 'I went into the kitchen and there’s a mirror. 'When I looked into it, I could see my skull. It happened so fast, the first five or six punches were just one after the other.'

Both were arrested when they went to Rowley Regis police station later that day to lodge a complaint against Mr Cummings for assault.

During cross-examination it was suggested Mr Cummings - who received a suspended jail sentence in 2012 for threatening to kill his ex-partner - had grabbed Mr Mullett by the throat.

Brian Dean, representing Mr Mullett, said Mr Cummings had been accused by his ex-partner of grabbing her around the throat in a similar manner during a domestic row in 2011. He also accused Mr Cummings of 'massively exaggerating' the assault.

Mr Cummings denied he grabbed Mr Mullett, saying it was the former police officer and his sister who launched the attack.

Original report here




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