A Fair Cop: The True Story of a Policeman's Struggle to Survive Prison [Paperback]

Michael Bunting (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

It was Michael Bunting's life ambition to follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer. But six years after his family watch him begin his life's dream, he is serving a sentence for a crime he didn't commit. This is his story. Beaten almost senseless as he tried to arrest a violent criminal, the 23-year-old PC was left with head injuries and blurred vision that took him months to recover from. Back at work he was astounded to learn that his attacker had filed a complaint against him and that the Police Discipline and Complaints Department were following up the allegation. Two years later he was found guilty of common assault against his assailant and received a prison sentence that left him living his devastated life among the criminals he had previously sought to keep off the streets. Hardhitting and at times heartbreaking the book is a graphic account of life behind bars for a policeman in one of England's hardest prisons.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Following his prison sentence, Michael Bunting was dismissed from the police force. He now runs a successful sports injury clinic and is currently working as a lecturer for the company with which he trained upon his release from prison. He spent the first four years after his release writing A Fair Cop

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906321922
• ISBN-13: 978-1906321925
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, February 24, 2011

By 

Brenda G. Brown "Brenda Brown" (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fair Cop: The True Story of a Policeman's Struggle to Survive Prison (Paperback)

I was shocked at what this cop had to go through. It is so sad that he had to endure what he endured. I don't think he should have been convicted period.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars scary tale of British injustice, August 5, 2009

By 

N. Brett (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fair Cop: The True Story of a Policeman's Struggle to Survive Prison (Paperback)

Britain is supposed to have a justice system that is the envy of the world, we are supposed to have a Police service that sets the standard for policing......

This is a book that will raise many questions, some of which will worry you.

This is the story of PC Michael Bunting who was involved in a violent arrest where he was injured. Astonishingly his assailant pressed charged for assault and although he was convicted, PC Bunting was eventually charged, convicted and sentenced to spend time in prison.

In his book the author takes us through his Police service to the point of the incident and then his time in prison. The first is interesting, the second is harrowing. His service involved a variety of roles, he even managed to arrest the famous Leeds soccer player Carleton Palmer and made the national headlines. So an ordinary, hard working copper dealt a terrible blow with an apparent massive miscarriage of justice. His time in prison was obviously tough but often for the fear of what might happen bundled up with what did actually happen.

But back to those questions...

Why on earth did the Crown Prosecution Service prosecute?
Why did a fellow officer offer incorrect evidence against him?
Why was expert evidence on the injuries Bunting received (and his assailant didn't) ignored?
Why did the Judge convict on such flimsy evidence?
Where was the support from Yorkshire Police?

Sadly they don't get answered but you will have a real sense of unease, either there is something fundamentally wrong with the way the system works, or there is something here we are not being told. To me is appears that a hard working police officer was incorrectly convicted and I have to confess that worries me a lot. The law must be there to protect both coppers and criminals and in this case it failed badly.

An interesting and worrying read. I have pegged this as three stars because I would have liked to have seen more to explain why this was allowed to happen and what challenges there were. The author seems to slightly breeze over external support and campaigning with more focus on the personal impact. This was important, but there must have been more going on, but the author has chosen to focus on what happened specifically to him, rather then what else was going on.