We represented a client who was wrongfully arrested, subjected to excessive force, and maliciously prosecuted by Metropolitan Police officers.
Facts of the case
On 29th September 2019, in the early hours of the morning, several officers arrested a suspect after an allegation had been made by an Uber driver of a racially aggravated assault. They proceeded to arrest the wrong person, having only obtained scant details of the suspect.
The officers then behaved in an unprofessional and aggressive manner towards our client but also towards others by questioning why they were friends with a 'racist'.
Whilst the officers arrested our client, they pushed him back onto the sofa on two occasions and in doing so, broke our client’s toe. Two of the officers involved then proceeded to make allegations of assault against our client which, in our view, was not supported by the body worn footage of the officers involved. This footage was played in the criminal proceedings against our client. The Judge at the criminal trial was extremely concerned by the actions of the police. She wrote to the police, requesting an investigation of the matter and a report on the outcome.
As a result, our client made a number of claims against the police which included:
- assault and battery as a result of an excessive and unreasonable use of force
- unlawful arrest
- malicious prosecution/ misfeasance in public office.
Issues in the case
Liability was denied throughout.
Our client argued that his arrest was unlawful and that the force used was excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary. He also argued that the officers acted maliciously and in bad faith in their dealings with him.
The police argued that they had reasonable grounds to arrest our client, force was used because our client was allegedly acting aggressively and that he had allegedly kicked an officer. They also denied our client’s claims that they acted maliciously and in bad faith.
Outcome
The case was issued at Court and the police filed a Defence. Following this, a case and costs management hearing took place before the London Courts. The Defendant robustly contested our client’s reliance on the comments made by the criminal Judge regarding the actions of the police officers involved in this incident. Shortly after, the case settled as a result of settlement negotiations between the parties.
Our client was represented by Head of Civil Liberties, Fiona McNelis who instructed Anirudh Mandagere of Deka Chambers as counsel.
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