Ex-Cop Jailed for Faking Brutal Attack in Ramsgate Graveyard
A former police officer has landed behind bars after fabricating a violent assault in a Ramsgate churchyard. Michael Tovell, 46, was slapped with a 15-month jail sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on 29 July 2019 for perverting the course of justice.
False Attack Claim Sparks Full Police Investigation
Tovell spun his tale of being attacked while searching for a missing person in St Lawrence Graveyard, Ramsgate, on 2 February 2018. He triggered his personal emergency alarm just after 9.30pm, shouting over the radio: “Get back” and “I’m Taser trained. Put it down.”
Two colleagues nearby rushed over within 30 seconds, searching the area – but never found the armed men Tovell claimed assaulted him with baseball bats and wooden planks. Paramedics treated him for minor injuries before he was discharged the same night.
Probe Unravels Cop’s Tale – CCTV and Witnesses Find Nothing
Police launched house-to-house enquiries, reviewed extensive CCTV footage, and appealed to witnesses. But no sign of the four burly attackers – or any disturbance – appeared anywhere. Locals described the graveyard and surrounding roads as usually quiet at that hour.
Further doubts emerged through missing audio of an attack on his emergency radio and unexplained gaps in Tovell’s timeline. When arrested in March 2018, he could not explain these contradictions.
Dismissed and Disgraced
Tovell was formally convicted in June 2019. Just a month later, a misconduct panel ruled he breached Kent Police’s professional standards, firing him without notice.
Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said: “Perverting the course of justice is a serious offence that wastes valuable police time better spent on real victims. This fabrication damages public trust and demoralises officers, some of whom face real violence on the job.”
Tovell’s jail sentence sends a strong message: faking assaults won’t be tolerated in policing.
