Mr J, a sergeant in the Territorial Army and unarmed combat instructor, was working as a doorman at a nightclub. A drunk man was asked to leave the nightclub after urinating in a corridor. Sometime later the man returned to the area of the nightclub and started threatening staff. The man stated that he was carrying a knife and continued to threaten staff. The door staff, including Mr J, restrained the man and called for police assistance. Officers attended and sent the man home. The following day Mr J was asked to attend the police station on allegations that he had assaulted and false imprisoned the drunk man. Mr J attended the police station voluntarily for interview. On arrival he was arrested by police officers and held in custody for 9 hours. Mr J was willing to attend the police station and answer questions, his detention was therefore unlawful. He was subsequently cleared of all allegations. Mr J was represented by Andrew Frederick, a solicitor in GT Stewart’s Actions Against the Police department. Andrew was able to obtain an award of £11,000 compensation for Mr J under a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement without the need for court proceedings.
Andrew said:- “There was no need for my client to be arrested. He was happy to answer any questions the police wanted to ask him as he knew that he hadn’t done anything wrong. My client’s detention in a police cell aggravated a pre-existing post-traumatic stress disorder he had suffered due to combat stress whilst serving abroad.”
Mr J said:- “Andrew was very easy to get hold of, better than other solicitors I have dealt with, and provided a lot of good customer service”
