Police officer who broke wife's back after kick down stairs is jailed

A police officer who broke his wife's back after he kicked her down the stairs has been jailed.

Huw Orphan, 32, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court on October 25 for causing grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm.

He had told the court he was trying to 'jump' out of his wife's way as she tried to 'swipe or grab' at his leg and he made contact with her, but a five-day trial in September found Orphan guilty of the crime.

The assault comes as the court heard how the PC had previously grabbed his wife - Amy Burley, also a police officer - by the wrists and pinned her to the floor on an earlier occasion.

The former PC denied threatening his wife that she would not see her children if she did not say the right things to doctors about how her back was injured.

The two assaults - which resulted in the victim suffering a fractured spine - took place in Newport and Barry in Wales on January 25, 2020, and April 7, 2020.

A gross misconduct hearing was held in public on October 11, 2024.

The couple had a five month old baby at the time - and rowed when Orphan returned from a shift at 1am.

Cardiff Crown Court heard she fell and broke a bone in her back and was given a brace to wear by medics.

The court also heard that a month following the stairs attack the couple had split up and Ms Burley contacted police chiefs asking for advice on how to make a complaint against her husband.

Ms Burley said her injuries had a lasting effect on her. 'I'm still in a lot of pain,' she added. 'I can't run around after my children, go into a soft play centre or kick a ball with them.'

The hearing found Orphan had breached the professional standards relating to discreditable conduct and that he would have been dismissed had he not resigned prior to the hearing.

Following the misconduct hearing earlier this month, Orphan was also placed on the College of Policing's barred list which prohibits him from serving as a police officer.

Gwent Police carried out the criminal investigation and subsequent misconduct investigation.

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Temporary Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said: 'Former officer Huw Orphan was convicted of these horrific crimes by a jury and has been dismissed from our service due to his disgraceful actions.

'My thoughts go out to the victim in this case who has shown tremendous courage in coming forward.

'There is no place in our organisation or in our communities for perpetrators of domestic violence and these actions do not represent the values of the vast majority of our hard working and committed staff, many of whom work tirelessly to prevent and detect serious offences like these.

'I know this case will have had a detrimental impact on the trust and confidence that victims of domestic abuse feel in coming forward to report to us.

'I want anyone considering doing so to know that we remain dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic abuse and bringing offenders to justice for these awful crimes.

'I would urge anyone who is suffering abuse to please get in touch with the police or another support service. Please don't suffer in silence.'

He added he was 'appalled and disgusted'.