Acussed of racist insults, police came round!

[HeUseToBringMeRoses]

Aibu to think this woman should be charged with with wasting police time ?

Long story so please bear with me. I am a regular who had name changed and I'm not out to start some kind of racism argument.

My ds is ill with flu and finally took him to the gp today and he has been given ab's for an ear infection. I then had to drag a poorly crying child to the chemist.

We got the prescription and was trying to manage a few bags and carry ds who was crying. It's fair to say I was harassed. I got to the door and an Asian lady ( yes that's relevant) was coming in and she held the door. To my shame I didn't say thankyou but I was so harressed. She muttered something to me about being rude, and to be fair Id have been the same.

I got outside and was putting ds into his car seat when this lady came out. Her car was parked right next to mine. I looked up and said 'look I'm sorry about not saying thanks I was just so distracted by my son' she launched into a big attack on me telling me I was rude and inconsiderate. So I basically said I was sorry again but there was no need for her to get so aggressive. She then started ranting big time so I just got in the car and drove off. Didn't think much about it for the rest of the day.

Next day ds was still poorly. Just after lunch there was a knock and it was the police. They came in and a rather brupt pc told me they'd had a complaint of racist abuse against me. They wanted me to the station with them. I explained I had nobody to watch ds so they agreed that I could attend the next day. Very horrible female pc said if it wasn't for ds she would arrest me.

I was in absolute bits, dh had to come home from work.

Next morning we attended the police station and although I wasn't arrested I had to give an interview under caution. It was only then that I found out exactly what was happening.

The lady from the day before had phoned the police after I had left in my car. She said I told her to 'shut up p@@@i and that'd I said she should f'off back to her own country. She said she then got in her car and that I was dragging my ds by the arm to the car and that he was upset and screaming and that I was shouting and swearing at him.

There is absolutely no truth in anything she said. Fortunately the policeman who interviewed us knew her of old and told us this woman has a history of fabricating stories and reporting people to the police.

Why the hell would somebody do something like that? It's not a game where you can trbandget somebody arrested just because they piss you off. And shouldn't the police do some about the fact that she I'd wasting police time?

Jesus Christ slug that's awful. What's the matter with people?

So sorry to hear you went thru this OP, yes the fact of that the investigation occurred will turn upon CRB, I expect (I used to be quite involved with CRB checks). I don't know about a note stating belief that it was a malicious complaint -- you might be able to ask the police directly about that.

As someone embroiled in a civil suit currently, I can't recommend it. :(

The CRB code of practice says that any employer has to consider carefully the relevance of any evidence turned up, and that they should let you state your side of the story. Whether they will listen is anybody's guess :(, but usually by the time a CRB is run the person has already been interviewed and accepted the position, so the employer has an invested reason to at least hear you out about what happened. The fact that the charges were dropped speaks volumes, I hope.

*To have a case for slander the person would have had to say something that she knows to be untrue with the intent to cause harm/mayhem, which she did.

For defamation of character you would have to prove that her accusations were believed and caused you harm - personally or professionally*

That's not right, and you don't have to prove actual loss for a libel case (nor even for a slander case, if the statement was 'calculated' -i.e., likely to- cause you damage).

You can't sue for defamation on a complaint made to police or another prosecuting authority any more. I don't think it's harassment because it was a one-off incident, so it is best left so far as civil action is concerned (unless you cross words with her again).

It must be worth exploring with the police what exactly, if anything, is going to appear on any CRB or PNC check against you, and to ask them what they intend to do about this woman's actions.

Sorry, cross swords

Well if there's no civil case to be had which ifind disappointing after such a horrible event, I would go to the press. Shame the woman publicly I think she deserves it. I am surprised you can't sue for emotional trauma I seem to see that all the time in reports - maybe in America though.

How completely awful for you, OP. Take care x

If this goes any further you must get legal advice. I know someone who tried to help police in a road rage incident and ended up getting arrested and charged - all trumped up and witness didn't even attend court. Had he got legal representation earlier and not volunteered information the case would probably have never got to court. Take care.

thing is though why dd they have to behave in that way to the OP? (accepting that any visit from the Police like that would feel threatening/worring/uncomfortable)
someone known to make malicious complaints made one, they had CCTV evidence that it wasn't true I'm surprised they even went round.
where I am they have (repeatedly) refused to accept reports of theft, have let someone drive away from driving into our car never to be seen of or heard of again (the whole thing was witnessed by the Police!!)

I have always assumed it was because they were too busy (am in a quite crime ridden part of London)

OP are you in a particularly green and leafy part of the country where the only crime is someone parking on a double yellow?!

Although should clarify have had excellent response from Police when someone was in back garden breaking in!

She sounds mentally disturbed. The police, on the other hand, seem to have dealt with it appallingly. Whatever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'.

The police officer has to point out to you what could happen and sounds like she was using her discretion to let you come in the next day to be interviewed. Some police forces insist on no discretion where racial incidents are concerned and you could have been arrested there and then- childcare issues or not.

The police could pursue the wasting police time aspect but there will need to be independent evidence like other witnesses or CCTV. If there isn't then it is her word against yours unfortunately.

swanandduck - that concept does not seem to bother the police. They appear to treat everyone they come across like scum even if they are victims of crime!

Not true PinkElephants -gross generalisation.

Actually, I think that non conviction info on an enhanced CRB is disclosed at the discretion of the police depending on whether they see it as "relevant". It therefore depends on the purpose of the enhanced CRB.

Tht is why an arrest re a mix up on a fixed penalty is unlikely to be disclosed, but it is possible that an accusation of racism might be.

I would speak to the police station to see if they will make a note re the circumstances on their records. If they are not helpful get the help of your MP.

By the way I think it is pretty disgraceful that they did not highlight your right to free legal representation in the interview.

scurry - it has been my experience on several occasions.

Perhaps you could share your own experiences if they differ from mine?

I think the world has gone mad, surely the police have better things to do then this. We are so careful now about anything seen as racist, or name calling that the POLICE are now involved.

When you are burguled you can often wait for hours if not days before an officer comes around if at all and anti social behaviour is often seen as 'high spirts' yet something like this (even if it were true) is given priority.

Mad....

Why would no discretion be insisted on in racial incidents? I'm sure there are many, many incidents like the OPs, or even deliberately malicious ones, and I dont see why the accused person should be treated like a criminal before there has been any investigation. I'm Irish. If someone annoys me can I just ring the Police and say that person called me a f**king Paddy, and know that the person will have a very uncomfortable afternoon in a police station.

Pink, you cannot speak for every victim of crime and I doubt very much that you have dealt with every police officer. I am sure in your profession you have some that do not behave properly.

I have never had any complaints from victims of crime about the way I have treated them. I could go into specifics but would bore you to death .

If you have legitimate complaints about the way you have been treated, then what has been the outcome of any investigation of the officers concerned?

scurry - do you have any experience of being a victim of crime? Would be interested to hear about that.

I have legitimate complaints, a previous one was handled by my MP and a current one is currently being handled. Will keep you posted on that.

Interview under caution will not show up on a CRB, enhanced or otherwise. A CRB check reveals convictions, cautions, reprimands, and warnings. Interview under caution is NOT a 'Caution' for the purposes of CRB - all an IUC is, is a formal interview for the purposes of gathering evidence or establishing facts, at the start of which the interviewee is told or 'cautioned' that (s)he is not obliged to say anything, but it may harm their defence if they do not mention something they later rely on in court, and that anything they do say may be given in evidence.

A Caution, or more properly a Police Caution, is an official warning given to a person over 18 for committing an offence; failure to accept the caution will normally result in prosecution. These are will show up on CRBs, especially if the offence is relevant to the reason for the check.

The police have to take any accusations of racist behaviour very seriously(in scotland there are strict guide lines layed down about this)so that might explain the police behaviour.
I am [shocked] that you say you werent offered legal advice. Are you in england or scotland? In scotland the law is currently in the process of being challenged but the police are now offering people who are arrested the chance to speak to a lawyer(I know because my dh is a lawyer and we getting phone calls constantly now.
I dont know if I would advise taking this any further as could be more hassle than its worth.Obviously your main concern should be your crb status and I would be checking this asap.

saultandpepper - an enhanced CRB check goes further than that and can include anything on police files about an individual that the police consider relevant. It is therefore very wide-reaching and relies very much on the judgement of the police.

It is conceivable that this case could be disclosed, though as it was shown to be a malicious accusation I would hope it would not be.

I would therefore have a word with the police station involved and tell my employer about the incident so they are fully in the picture, just in case.

Yes, several times.
I have been a victim of thefts, burglaries, car crime, racial abuse, sexual abuse. I have been ABH'd several times and GBH'd once. Most of this has occurred on duty but some off duty too. My own force has investigated some of the incidents and other forces have also been involved.

I am sorry it sounds like you have had such a poor service from your Police and I can only apologise without knowing the full circumstances. Please do not tar every officer with the same brush -some of us do a good job.

how horrible to be falsely accused of something; as others have said it is lucky this woman is known to the police already. I think wherever a complaint is made they are duty bound to investigate even if they doubt the truthfulness of it.

pink4ever - any person being interviewed under caution has the right to ask for free representation though the police seem to discourage this as it causes delays. They do not have to be under arrest.