A court has ordered a two-month detention of a police officer who was found guilty of slapping a minor who was in handcuffs on the ground at least three times during an arrest in Paceville.

The arrest had taken place on 5 January 2025.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech condemned officer Kurt Jenkins' actions.

The court established that the boy had tried to flee the scene but was caught and arrested, and that Jenkins arrived when the boy was already in handcuffs.

The court relied a lot on bodycam footage, which showed Jenkins slapping the minor who was handcuffed on the ground at least three times, the judgement read. The footage also showed Jenkins dragging the minor like a dog, it said.

The court said that the footage shows that there was no doubt that the accused, an official employed to enforce order and prevent crime, "carried out a vile and cowardly attack" on a handcuffed boy who was lying on the ground, after the boy had already been restrained while in police custody.

The boy could be heard apologising and asking to call his mother in the footage, the judgement read.

"The accused acted like a bully, aggressive and arrogant."

"Instead of bringing honour to the uniform, he disgraced it and abused the powers entrusted to him as a police officer," the judgement read.

The judgement described the accused's behaviour as "animalistic."

The court praised the decision by the police force to start using body cams.

Since the officer was charged with contraventions, the court ordered he be detained for two months. The court noted that the accused had not been charged by the prosecution with causing slight bodily harm (Article 221 (1) of the criminal code).