Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine arrested - The vindictiveness of the school and police overreach

[Everanewbie]

AIBU to worry that this type of incident seems to be happening more and more? To me, there are several concerning aspects to this story. Here is a link if you aren't yet aware.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/29/parents-arrested-by-hertfordshire-police-for-complaining-about-daughters-school

Firstly, the apparent opaqueness of a public organisation and attempts to shut down private conversation and the vindictiveness the school has shown in attempting to silence this couple.

Secondly, the treatment of the pupil whereby she is being dropped off an escorted into school, and inability to discuss he disability and SEN with teachers, leading to multiple emails that were ultimately used against the couple.

And thirdly, WTF are the police doing? 6 Officers to arrest a meek professional couple, in front of their daughter. Holding them in a cell for 11 hours? Why are the police not dismissing this out of hand? I have always tried to be a supporter of the police, but how can reasonable people continue to accept this when they wont attend a burglary or detain shoplifters, but turn up in force for a middle class couple who called a governor a control freak in a private conversation?

It’s not rubbish at all, I’m trying to explain to you how decisions are made and justified. You can scream and shout and call for blood all you like, the complaint was not upheld because the alternative was arriving with too few officers and putting people at risk and that’s why the bosses have backed them.

The police routinely work in pairs. As I have already explained your claim that they brought more officers here because of the child present is incorrect because they claimed not to know the child would be there and the parents had to get the gran to attend to look after the child as the police were unable or unwilling to do so. The parents have no history of violence or convictions and had been accused of a non violent offence.

Those are the facts. You may not wish to believe that the police ever overstep the mark but clearly they do and the evidence in this case shows they did.

😂 prejudices? Against white middle class couples?!

You’re trying to justify six police officers turning up for a non violent allegation (that should never have been the subject of arrest) on the basis that a middle aged couple, an 80 year old and a 4 year old might be unusually dangerous.

Clearly as the police usually work in pairs be had no reason to believe my of these people were dangerous in the slightest you are talking nonsense.

The facts are that the couple made a complaint and it was not upheld. I have tried to explain to you why this might be despite being told I’m “off my rocker” and all manner of insults. I don’t have to argue my point, it was tested and vindicated with the dismissal of the complaint. You’re the one still insisting people are wrong with no knowledge of how things actually work so please continue.

If you look at your messages - both describe scenarios that you claim to have encountered before and that you think happened based on your experience. Yet the evidence shows that in fact that was not what happened in this case.

Prejudice means you have pre judged based on your experience or beliefs about a particular group. That’s exactly what you have done here.

Maybe look at the actual facts not other different situations you may have encountered

What I would ask about all of this is how do the teaching staff find out what is being said in parent WhatsApp groups??

you have tried to justify clear misconduct from the police with all sorts of claims including that they needed six police officers because of a dangerous four year old! You are not “explaining” anything.

it’s not a surprise the police aren’t upholding a complaint against themselves! Not unusual either.

Yes I have encountered it. The evidence - the emails and the discussions on the school site? Videos have been released have they or were you there? I have seen the whatsapp sent after but not seen the videos or all the emails. Care to share?

I have no prejudice about a particular group. I have based my opinion on what I see daily from such groups. They are toxic and given that they mock the school after says it all. When someone says stop and they carry on, what does that say about them?

So you are prejudice in your beliefs? Thank you for admitting it.

I am asking you for links to the facts as you seen to have been there and have all the emails stored. Kindly share them.

Now given that harassment is two or more forms of unwanted contact, did they only contact the school once after being told to stop?

Also no one “screaming and shouting and calling for blood”. We’re rightfully annoyed that the police have turned up at someone’s home with six officers and locked up a couple in separate cells on the basis of an allegation that they criticized a public authority (which they could have determined was not unlawful if they reviewed beforehand).

it’s scandalous behavior and action should be taken. The fact that the police themselves judged they did nothing wrong is not evidence they didn’t! It makes it worse not better

When I heard about this I was sure there must be some level of harassment or threat involved from the couple towards teaching staff, but the mind absolutely boggles if it was a reaction to mild criticism in a Whatsapp group. Even if if it were libellous that is a civil matter, not a criminal one and police should not be involved.

I've been threatened with prosecution several times due to DD2's struggles with attendance, which added to the stress severalfold. We are the most engaged parents you could imagine and could not be doing any more. I know schools have to go down this route, but this, and academy chains clearly being too big for their boots has to stop.

The police and the school deserve to have their arses kicked from pillar to post in the media and I hope some good comes of it.

your post and the post you referenced claimed that you imagined they were guilty of something based on your experience. It was not based on the evidence but what you thought might have happened. Those are your own words

Re the actual facts involved here - the parents had every right to contact the school about their child. They had to do so by email as the school banned them because they complained about corruption in appointment of the new head. That is not harassment and neither is posting on a private parent’s group the school were not involved in. The police found no unlawful conduct.

Based on the fact that they have in fact contacted the school numerous times despite being asked to stop.

I am not saying they do not have a right to contact the school about their child. Yes they do but I never said anything of the sort. Please quote me where I said this is not allowed? Now you are fabricating something completely different entirely. Why are you making things up that I have not said nor implied?

I was clearly on about the discussion about the appointment, now you are pretending I said something else. Just shows how easily ppl can manipulate things and pretend it is about something else to deflect. Think you highlighted how easily ppl do this - thank you for showing this!

The school banned them because of their conduct not because they complained. Otherwise all parents would be banned from all sites as all parents complain at one time or another. You said you know what was said and knew the facts - which would include the videos of CCTV of their meetings on school premises and the emails before this whatsapp - which I asked for you to share and now are not doing. Can you explain why you are not?

It is harassment to continue after being told to stop. Please can you submit a timeline of the events from both sides so then you can show when they were told to stop and that they only communicated about it once after.

It’s not correct that they were asked to stop contacting the school. They were not - the opposite, they were told to only contact the school by email. They did so as is necessary as they had a disabled child with a medical issue. They made a complaint about being banned from the premises in writing via the official channels as they were entitled to do.

Your posts show that you are simply unwilling to consider the facts and have judged them guilty of things they have not even been accused of. Calling them “vile” and refusing to even contemplate that the school my have got it wrong despite overwhelming evidence isnt a convincing argument.

The parents had to communicate with the school by email as the school banned them from talking to anyone at the school and insisted everything was done by email hence the “large” volume of emails. They weren’t asked to stop communicating re their daughter all together, just that they had to do it by email…which is why there were so many emails. Because their daughter has epilepsy. So they would naturally need to speak to the school a lot.

You seem to be another poster who is going with “the school banned them so they’re obviously guilty”. Any possibility that the school is the party in the wrong here or are you just going with schools are never wrong and all parents are abusive if the schools thinks they are?

🤨

The school sent a letter specifically saying not to do so so yes the school did say so.

Yes they were allowed to contact re their child as I never never said otherwise. The two matters are completely isolated.

Yes they are allowed to complain about being banned and challenge that. Again I have no said otherwise.

I have asked for the facts twice now and twice you have refused or deflected and talked about things we have not debated suggesting we have which is not the case.

You talk of overwhelming evidence yet have still not produced this. All I have seen are the whatsapp messages after the letter was sent - the letter you said doesn't exist which the parents themselves say exists. So by all means - for a 3rd time now, please share the emails, cctv etc of this.

I have not called the parents vile - why are you lying again? How disgusting that you are making false allegations and fabricating things because you disagree with me.

She actually stated in her post that the school don’t ban people for no reason, so yes, she has just assumed guilt. Hence why I said she had pre judged them.

The letter the school sent was to tell them not to talk about the school in whatsapp groups. They have no right to stop parents discussing the school in whatsapp groups or otherwise. They never told the parents not to email the school- nor could they as they had a SEN child and they needed to communicate.

if you don’t know the facts, look at some of the many links posted on this thread. Stop just making stuff up!

The school issued a letter and the parents admitted they would continue mocking the letter and saying how can they stop us. If they weren't doing anything why would they say that?

They actually said that the school cannot stop them! So they admitted there and then that they were doing something! They even admitted they were not civil messages but insulting.

The parents admitted they were name calling and so the school have every right to challenge that and ask parents to stop.

They asked for such communications to stop which they have every right to stop bullying which name calling is - unless you think it is ok for name calling to go on?

The whatsapp shows they were name calling the staff. They admit it in the whatsapp. The whatsapp literally shows that one parents admits to being mean to the staff. They even say "One of the school mums said something mean about me" So they are admitting they were insulting towards the school staff. Why should schools put up with that level of behaviour? It is harmful to adults as well as children and it also models bullying to the children.

I bet this has played a part in why the police investigated (just to jump to conclusions without any evidence 😜). The school banned them so they’re obviously guilty must be guilty because schools don’t ban parents for no good reason, right? There was 5 weeks between the complaint and the arrests and the senior polis doing the questioning hadn’t read the emails etc hen they interviewed the couple according to the couple. I wouldn’t have thought 5 weeks was that extraordinary for a non-urgent investigation.

Did you see what the police told the councillor who was going to speak on the couple’s behalf? She was told that she might become a subject of the investigation herself and her input wasn’t needed as the school had appointed a new head. That struck me as odd. Do the police usually get into such specific detail like that ie saying the recruitment process was underway and an appointment had been made? Surely they’d just concentrate on any possible criminal activity rather than update the public with details of the recruitment of a head teacher?!

Come on, calling someone a control freak isn’t bullying!

Why don’t you post the screenshots of the texts you’re mentioning then we can make sure we’re all looking at the same evidence?

They were and are right. The school sent a letter saying the parents couldn’t criticise them in whatsapp groups. That’s extraordinary behaviour- the school have no control whatsoever over parents discussions on whatsapp or otherwise. There is nothing wrong with mocking that - they are not “vile” or “toxic” for doing so (check your earlier posts).

it is entirely lawful to discuss schools and other public services in private (and in public).

I've just quoted them direct where they admit to being insulting to staff. I am still waiting on the cctv and the emails from your mate.

The parents can criticise them but when it is breaches the law then it falls under harassment laws and the parents then have to accept what comes with it. Sadly teachers are not whipping dogs for you and the public. By all means if you support internet bullying then ask for the school social media policy to be changed so the kids can say what they want about other kids. Parents soon realise the impact when it is the kids who are victims of this. Teachers are humans too and the impact is also seen in schools.

If that is the case then imagine when the parents complain next about their child being name called on social media - school could then say sorry you pushed for free speech on social media to never be held to account so no can do.

I have not said the parents are vile or toxic. Again more lies. Why do you keep lying? What do you hope to achieve?