Former police officer charged with GBH after 'tackling shoplifter'
A former police officer who stepped in to tackle a susoected shoplifter has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm.
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Lorne Castle, 47, is accused of seriously injuring Daniel Meyrick during an altercation outside the Castlepoint shopping centre in Bournemouth, Dorset, last June.
Castle was pictured detaining the suspected shoplifter outside the Nike store, pinning him to the ground with his arm locked behind his back in an action described in reports at the time as a "citizen’s arrest".
However, he was investigated by Thames Valley Police over the incident and has now been charged by the Crown Prosecution Service with causing grievous bodily harm without intent to Mr Meyrick.
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The incident happened a couple of weeks after Castle left his role as a PC for Dorset Police.
According to the charge, brought under section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, he is accused of "unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm" upon the alleged victim.
Castle has been told to appear in the dock for the first time on May 27 at Reading Magistrates’ Court.
In a statement, a Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: "Following our investigation on behalf of Dorset Police, the Crown Prosecution Service has charged a man in connection with an assault outside Castlepoint Shopping Centre in Bournemouth on 19 June last year.
"Lorne Castle, aged 47, from Bournemouth, was charged by postal requisition on 30 April with one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
"Castle is due to appear at Reading Magistrates' Court on 27 May."