My arrest story

[Mortiroloboy]

We live in very uncertain times, your arrest and subsquent process were perfectly correct, once in custody police have a power under s.18 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to search for further evidence. Finger prints, DNA and photograph are also taken as a matter of routine.

However, what I would say is that if your version of events is correct, (and only you know if what you have related is completely correct), then you certainly have grounds for a complaint regarding the conduct of the officers, who dealt with you.

They have not on the face of it acted unlawfully (your detention was authorised), but their professional conduct appears to fall short.

With regard to the destruction of your paintballing gun/clothing there was no lawful reason why that should happen.

Write to the commisioner for the Metroplitan Police, quote your custody record number in your letter, outline your complaint in a chronological clear manner.

But something you may like to ponder is the fact that we have been attacked twice and that the threat of another attack is ever present.

Best of luck.

 

[ColinJ]

But something you may like to ponder is the fact that we have been attacked twice and that the threat of another attack is ever present.

And it will be in all countries for ever more! Even if you killed every terrorist and every person who ever supported them, you'd soon have a new group come along who were willing to kill and die for whatever particular cause they believed in.

The 'war on terrorism' can never be won. If it is okay to suspend civil liberties to deal with the current batch of terrorists, then they will be suspended indefinitely. Do we really want that? If random searches are okay, how about tapping every phonecall? Intercepting every email? (Actually, GCHQ probably does that already!) Why not bug every house? How about installing a few agents provocateurs in every town and village - if you are really innocent, you wouldn't be caught out! Do away with jury trials? Suspend habeas corpus? Allow torture in 'special cases'?

Do we really want to live in a world where it would be okay for a deaf or non-English-speaking 'foreign-looking' person to be killed when running to catch a bus, because some trigger-happy policeman shot him for failing to stop when ordered to do so?

How about summary execution if a law enforcement officer thinks your iPod looks like a bomb?

People are being horribly slaughtered and maimed in their thousands every year by idiots in cars, and bugger all is done about it. If someone causes one hundredth of that carnage deliberately, life as we know it has to come to an end...

The destruction of the World Trade Centre was an outrage, as were the bombings in London. And Guantanamo Bay...

The way to try and beat terrorists is by being more civilised than them and showing them up for what they are. That way, their support crumbles and their communities help the law catch up with the few fanatics left. If you sink down to their level, then they've won!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

We live in very uncertain times, your arrest and subsquent process were perfectly correct

No, it wasn't. It was quite clearly racist and arbitrary. It was motivated by no reasonable suspicion at all. You simply cannot start to accept the erosion of liberties that the law is supposed to protect by recourse to arguing that those liberties are under threat.

In addition, you cannot simply argue that whatever is the law is automatically right or justified. The Terrorism Act is one of the most vague and poorly worded laws that has been put into place recently, and unfortunately part of a trend towards badly constructed law in recent years.

 

[Noodley]

Soapbox is that-a-way>>>>>>>>>>

 

[Cab]

Sometimes you read a tale like this and think 'but there must be another side to the story', i.e. there is sufficient in there that maybe the other guy had a point. But here, its abundantly clear that the copper didn't have a point. Fair enough, ask questions, do a stop and search... But thats it.

Contact Liberty, and take this to the national press.

 

[Maz]

I'm Asian and Muslim - most of you know that already, probably. As I was reading through pzycoman's blog I thought to myself 'Are you Asian? Are you muslim?'...saw your photo, pzycoman - you look Arab, are you?

There's a lot of horror stories I've personally heard from people I know. Mate of mine (muslim/asian) was arrested by the poleeece as he happened to have the same surname as someone on some gov't 'wanted' list. His credit cards were cancelled, bank account frozen, even PayPal asked him for his friggin passport before they would open an account for him. This was a couple of years ago and he's still trying to get his life/family back to normal.

my wife is absolutely convinced our phone calls are being tapped (stating some type of 'static' in the background), but i'm sceptical about it.

Doesn't matter how good an egg you are, you still come under suspicion on account of being brown/muslim, which is a sad reflection on the society we live in and the powers that the Authorities have.

i honestly don't know what i'd do if i was in your situation, pzycoman. With my placid nature I'd probably try and forget about it and not pursue it. It might be asking for more trouble. That said, you should do what you feel is right.

 

[jasper]

I encountered something similar but to a lesser extent when I first moved to London in '96. There was a spate of stop & search for IRA suspects and the first time I encountered it I was driving around Staples Corner when a police officer flagged me down, explained what was about to happen, then directed me to a coned off area under the fly over. The did a quick search of me and my vehicle, asked a couple of questions then off I go about my business.

However, the second time didn't quite go the same. A few weeks later, I was driving down Park Lane in the offside lane on a dark, rainy, Winter's night and I heard sirens. I checked my side mirrors (white Transit van with a bulkhead, so no rear view mirror) and sure enough, silhouette of two "ambulances" with their blue lights on.

I indicate and move over to the next lane, they did the same. So I indicate again and move over again, they did the same. So I indicate again and pull right over and stop to allow them to get past. Wham, one of the big riot vans screeches to a halt in front and one behind with armed police pouring out of them. They forcefully rip me out of my van, snatching the keys from the ignition and push me to my knees in the middle of the road with their weapons pointing at me.

Then an unarmed officer escorts me over to the pavement under the watchful eye of his covering guards. He then explained that I'd been stopped due to terrorism (IRA), blah, blah and that I would be search and also the vehicle.

This is where I asked them why they had stopped me in the first place? His reply was because I hadn't stopped...??? I said that I thought they where ambulances, and why had I made them suspicious to warrant a stop in the first place. The reply was because I was in a Transit van....

The officer searched me then got one of his team to retrieve my jacket from the van as by this time I was shivering as I'd only got a t-shirt on. After checking the pockets, etc he gave it to me.

His sergeant came over giving the big "I am", asked who owned the vehicle. I replied that it belonged to work, he asked who I worked for and then accused me of lying as it belonged to a hire company. I wasn't to know that our company leased-hired their fleet.

He then told me that he's going to search the van and I'd better own up now if there's anything in that shouldn't be...WTF? I told him to fill his boots, I'd nothing to hide. Also that it was full of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of electro-sensitive telecomms equipment (true) and before they handled any of it they would have to wear anti-static wrist straps to prevent damage...how I chuckled watching them tie themselves in knots with the wrist straps while trying to carry out the search ...

The guy who had done a personal search of me was ok and we exchanged pleasentries. although the weapon was still covering me. I said that his sarge was a cock and he agreed, adding that most of his team thought the same. Just goes to show that you've got to earn respect, not have an automatic right to it.

Anyway, two and a half hours later, the sergeant, comes back from the van and sarcastically says that he was sorry to have troubled me and that I was free to go on my way. I, even more sarcastically, told him not to worry himself about it as I was field engineer and so the clock didn't stop ticking until I get to my front door and I was very thankful for the extra overtime as it was coming up to Christmas.

Then I drove off, with them all smirking at him.

So, although not as bad as your story P'man, I was still stopped in similar circumstances...swap Asian for Transit van. I wasn't aware that all the IRA bombers drove Transit vans...I'm white, born and bred in Lancashire and had a thick Lanky accent, not Irish.

At least you came out of the other side relative unscathed.

Edited to apologise for such a long thread.

 

[yenrod]

>pzycoman

As much as its bad what you've been thru mate, I feel and if you want to dislike me then I'm sorry: given that Lodon has been blown up by deranged people - talking to an armed police fascist aint that best a thing to do.

Ive been arrested 'pzycoman' and have spent 7hourts in a police cell so I know what bastards the robots of the state can be like I even recall the name of the arresting officer.

All the best mate.

 

[fossyant]

Funk me...that's bad.

I assume absolutely no legal response for you ?

 

[wafflycat]

Okay, presumably you are Asian? Do you by any chance have a big bushy beard? Any cap? Were you carrying a rucsac? What was it that made the copper suspicious? Was it just the fact that you had the temerity to ask him questions? Forgive my questions but I'm curious to know what triggered his paranoia.

Possibly this level of intelligence...

 

[Keith Oates]

That is a terrible story, pzycoman, and something that will be very hard to get over and forget. I suppose the moral of the story is do not engage in any friendly banter with Policemen on duty as it can be misinterpreted. As others have said it's a sad world that we live in today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blue]

I have to say that had I been walking around with photos of guns of any sort and others of me in combats I would not have struck up a conversation with a security patrol and started asking questions about duty hours etc.

The reaction was brutal, but I wouldn't think unexpected.

 

[Mr Pig]

the moral of the story is do not engage in any friendly banter with Policemen

Peddling up a hill yesterday two young policewomen yelled at me "come on, peddle faster". Guess I had a narrow escape ;0)

And you know you're getting old when all the cops look about twelve!

 

[Globalti]

In the couple of official (driving related) encounters I've had with the Police they have been fine. But maybe the armed officer in a big city whose brief is to be suspicious about everything and everybody is a different beast. The arresting officer in this story comes across as paranoid, scared, not very intelligent and pumped up on testosterone. He is not allowed to make a judgement based on human impressions or instinct, he is trained to look for certain key clues and I guess pzycoman unwittingly ticked more than one of his boxes.

 

[Mr Pig]

The arresting officer in this story comes across as paranoid, scared..

How scared can you be when you've got your very own machine gun?