A POLICE officer sacked for pushing a boy in a bush says he is "moving on" after the appeal against his dismissal failed.
Mark Jones, who as a former servant of the Crown cannot challenge the verdict on legal grounds, will instead concentrate on new work in railway safety and lorry driving.
The 40-year-old ex-Chelmsford and Braintree constable has not truly waved goodbye to his old trade without attacking the culture at Essex Police first.
Mr Jones said: "I'm drawing a line under it now because too much of my time has been spent worrying about it, waiting and putting my fate in other people's hands.
"I'm quite happy. If I got my job back I would not have stayed, I would have left. I would have stayed for as long as it took to have grounds to take legal action on the grounds for constructive dismissal.
"It was not about getting my job back, it was about clearing my name."
The father-of-four says he is earning about £2,000 a month, £150 more than he did with the force, working self-employed for logistics firms during the week and maintaining railways at the weekend.
"Even though I have to work hard for it there is no stress and no hierarchy of individuals making ridiculous decisions to get themselves promoted.
"The lack of stress is showing, and my wife has commented as to how different I am."
The Sible Hedingham resident, an Essex Police constable of nearly 12 years, was accused of grabbing a 14-year-old by the neck and pushing him in a bush in Chelmer Village on Tuesday, October 23, 2012.
Mr Jones however claims the boy and friends were obstructing their hunt for a wanted man, and in the altercation that followed he in fact rescued the boy from tripping back into the hedge.
A year later he was found not guilty of common assault at Ipswich Magistrates' Court but an internal investigation continued.
Astounded, he emailed Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh for help while placed on restricted duties, only to be met with disciplinary action from his managers.
"I told him 'you have a front line officer answering calls, surely there is a better use for me'," said Mr Jones, who met Mr Kavanagh once and said he was "a nice bloke".
"But I got a warning, to the effect of 'you do not email Mr Kavanagh and complain about how you are being treated'.
"My federation rep thought it was hilarious. I think his words were 'you have some balls'."
He was given his marching orders following a two-day hearing in January for using excessive and unnecessary force, discreditable conduct and for failing to act with honesty and integrity.
At the end of last month the Police Arbitration Tribunal announced his appeal was unsuccessful.
Mr Jones has since lambasted the culture of people "wishing to be promoted" at the force and its centralisation of specialised units.
Serious Collision Investigation Unit officers must commute to the rest of the county from Boreham, while last year the dog unit was reduced from 52 to 40 canines and all are based in Sandon.
"I think it's ridiculous," said Mr Jones. "You should look at exactly what you're getting yourself into when joining the police now."
As a servant of the Crown, Mr Jones has no employment rights to take the force to court.
Essex Police Federation chair Mark Smith, who says officers can only sue on the grounds of discrimination, said: "Unfortunately for Mark Jones, it is not an option for him to sue the police."
