Charlie Harrison, 39, was convicted on Monday in Southwark Crown Court, London, for causing serious bodily harm, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
His conviction follows a five-day trial last month in which he was convicted by majority vote, police added.
Harrison, who worked on the Met’s violent crime task force, was wearing civilian clothes on December 31, 2018, according to Judge Greg Perrins as he stepped out of his unmarked police car and approached Carl Abrahams and his two sons in Newham, east London. sentencing comments seen by CNN.
According to the judge’s comments, Abrahams had taken his sons, 13 and 16, to visit their mother’s grave at Manor Park Cemetery and was walking home when Harrison approached and blocked their path.
Abrahams told the court he did not know Harrison was a police officer. He pushed past him and kept walking, then Harrison kicked the leg and knocked him to the ground, Perrins said.
Abrahams suffered a knee fracture and had to give up football and running as a result of the injury, according to court documents.
The judge said that Abraham and his sons had done nothing wrong and were not suspicious.
“Having heard the evidence at trial, I strongly suspect that the reason you stopped Mr. Abrahams and his sons was because they were black,” Perrins said. “If Mr. Abrahams and his sons had been white, I guess you’d just drive by.”
Abraham’s sons “fear the police and believe that three years later they still risk being attacked because of the color of their skin,” the comments continue.
Police said Harrison has been suspended and will be subject to disciplinary action.
“His actions turned out to be well below the standard we expect from our police officers, with a man left badly injured,” Police Commander Paul Betts said in the statement.
“This kind of behavior has no place in our police force and undermines the trust of the communities we protect here,” added Betts.
Perrins acknowledged that Harrison’s career with the police is now over.
“I accept that this is difficult for you,” said the judge. “It’s none other than yours, though.”
In 2020, data from the UK government showed that between April 2018 and March 2019, there were 38 stops and searches for every 1,000 blacks in England and Wales, compared to four for every 1,000 whites.
And an exclusive CNN / Savanta ComRes poll found that black people in the UK are twice as likely as white people to say they have not been treated with respect by the police.