A young black man, Jason, has told the Messenger, how he was violently arrested and humiliated by police on Spital Hill just after 2pm on 26th July.
Officers from the New Deal team stopped him because they thought he fitted the description of someone the police were looking for. He did not object to being stopped and searched. The police found a cannabis spliff in his pocket. But when they arrested and handcuffed him for possession of a spliff, he objected that this was an unnecessary abuse of their powers.
Deacon Dave Havard had just left a community meeting with a colleague.
Dave told us
“We saw two police officers who’d been on bicycles, wrestling with a young black man,”
“The officers were pushing the man into the undergrowth beside the Library and his head pushed into the brick work. He was struggling and as we moved closer I could see one officer had both his hands around the man’s neck. My immediate concern was seeing the young man being throttled by this technique.”
Jason confirmed that he told the officers he suffers from sickle cell anaemia:
“They were depriving me of oxygen and this triggers my illness.”
Dave’s colleague saw the officers undoing Jason’s belt and trousers as part of the search. He asked the officers to stop restraining him.
Numerous other officers appeared at the scene and attempted to place Jason inside a police car.
Added Dave
“He resisted by making his body rigid,” Five officers then wrestled him to the ground placing restraining straps around his legs. He was left trussed up in the middle of the road with his trousers around his knees.”
A large crowd of local people gathered to see what was happening. Jason says he was a victim of assault in which the police stamped on his back and his finger was damaged.
“For over ten minutes with his head jammed into the tarmac and seminaked he was left in this humiliating position until a van to transport him arrived. Even then the man wasn’t removed from the scene, as though there was no urgency to get him away from the scene or put him straight into the van. He was shouting and complaining bitterly about this treatment.”
Jason says that at the police station he was not questioned about any crime alleged to have been committed by the person he supposedly resembled. Instead he was charged with assaulting the police.
Inspector John Ekwubiri gave us the following response:
“The man was stopped and searched following information received of drug dealing in the immediate vicinity, the man matched the description given.”
We asked if the police have any policies around sickle cell anaemia that would affect the way officers dealt with the incident.
Inspector Ekwubiri told us:
“I have sickle cell anaemia trait which is known to my colleagues, the man was struggling violently and my officers responded accordingly, they are all trained in first aid, had he shown signs of distress, he would have been treated accordingly, safety of all is a priority.”
The Messenger asked if negotiation could have been used to avoid the situation escalating as it did
Inspector responded:
“Had negotiation been used, the offender would have had the opportunity to destroy evidence, immediate compliance is paramount.Any incident that shows police officers struggling in the street is to the detriment of community relations, however, we have to balance that with ridding the community of drug dealers.”
Code of Practice
The Police Code of Practice (A) relating to searches says: ‘All stops and searches must be carried out with courtesy, consideration and respect for the person concerned. This has a significant impact on public confidence in the police. Every reasonable effort must be made to minimise the embarrassment that a person being searched may experience.’
No one can be required ‘to remove any clothing in public other than an outer coat, jacket or gloves’ except in case of searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 or if the person is trying to conceal their identity or a weapon. ‘A search in public of a person’s clothing which has not been removed must be restricted to superficial examination of outer garments. This does not, however, prevent an officer from placing his or her hand inside the pockets of the outer clothing, or feeling round the inside of collars, socks and shoes.’
The officer who does the searching must provide his name and the name of the police station to which he is attached, and give a clear explanation of the reason for the search. Since the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 came into force, the police can arrest those suspected of committing any offence. But the Police Code of Practice (G) relating to arrests says: ‘The use of the power must be fully justified and officers exercising the power should consider if the necessary objectives can be met by other, less intrusive means. When the power of arrest is exercised it is essential that it is exercised in a non-discriminatory and proportionate manner.’ There must be reasonable grounds for an arrest. The main grounds (listed in full in section 2.9 of the Code, available at all police stations) are:
if the person being arrested refuses to provide their name or address,or the officer has reasonable grounds for doubting this information;
if the person might hurt himself or someone else, or damage property;
if the person might interfere with a police investigation (eg,destroying evidence or intimidating witnesses);
if the police think it is necessary to obtain evidence by questioning; or
if there are reasonable grounds for believing that if the person is not arrested they will fail to attend court.