A man was charged at the Marylebone Police-office, on Mon-
day, with riotous behaviour, and an assault on the Policeman who took him into custody. It appeared that the poor fellow himself had the most reason to complain ; having been brutally treated by one of the Policemen, who had dealt him a savage blow on the head with his truncheon, and cut him very severely—his shirt and collar were soaked in blood. The Policeman said that he cer- tainly had struck the prisoner; but that the brood, came from his nose. Mr. RAWLINSON, the Magistrate;said-
" No man's nose ever bled so much as that. Besides, what business have you to strike with your truncheon?" Witness—" He struck at me first."
Mr. Rawlinson—" No officer has a right to strike any person like a brute, as you did this man. And afterwards you tarn round and say it came from his nose—shocking!"
The prisoner was then discharged; Mr. Rawlinson remarking that he hoped the Inspector (who was present) would take notice of the case.
Now, why was this brutal Policeman discharged without punish- meat ? Every week we observe, that the Magistrates. suffer Po- licemen to escape with a mild reprimand, for offences which would be punished with fine or imprisonment if committed by a vaga- bond not of " the Force." It may be, that in some in,tances the Inspectors report, and the men who are found fault with are dis- missed. But that is not enough. A Policeman has no Charter of exemption from liability. to the Magistrates' jurisdiction; and when he stands in the office clearly guilty of an unjustifiable as- sault, why should the Magistrate dismiss him, with the hope merely that he would receive elsewhere a small portion of that punishment which it was his own duty to award in full ? We think that Mr. RawwsoN was guilty of remissness in the case which has called forth theSe .remarks : but at the same time we would observe, that he appears in general to perform the duties of his office with good sense,. temper, and humanity. This is more than can be said with truth of several of his brethren on. the bench.
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