A police officer has been charged with three separate common assaults, alleged to have been committed during the detention of a man and during two stop and searches. PC Declan Jones of West Midlands police is alleged to have committed the offences over a four-day period in April in Birmingham. The criminal charges follow an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into allegations of excessive use of force. It is alleged that assaults followed the stopping and searching of a man in Aston on 20 April, the stopping and searching of another man in Handsworth on 23 April, and the detention of a young man in Newtown on 21 April. Jones, 29, who is based in Birmingham, has been suspended from duty. He will appear at Coventry magistrates court on 18 November. In a statement, the IOPC said: “The charges are in connection with a series of ongoing investigations by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into allegations of excessive use of force by police officers in the city earlier this year. “We began an independent investigation into the circumstances of the incident at Newtown following a voluntary referral from West Midlands police on 30 April. Our investigations in respect of the incidents at Aston and Handsworth followed complaints referred to us in May. “We passed files of evidence from our inquiries to the Crown Prosecution Service, which has now authorised the charges.” Sarah Hammond, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “The CPS has authorised the Independent Office for Police Conduct to charge Declan Jones, a West Midlands police officer, with three counts of common assault against three complainants. “The allegations relate to incidents which took place between 20 and 23 April 2020. This decision was made following careful consideration of the evidence presented to us by the IOPC. “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against PC Jones are now active and that he has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”