Mother arrested in front of child by Met over bus fare (that she had paid!)

[TERFinTheHouse]

Tw: upsetting content

twitter.com/saskia_cole/status/1682705268721737728?s=46&t=p6GESSn09HWHVXYgTLIbJg

Why was this woman arrested like this!?! Her poor child!

According to other Tweeters, she had paid her bus fare BTW.

It doesn’t and even if it did I fail to understand how this has anything to do with a woman being arrested for fare evasion in front of her distraught child.

People are casting judgement on the word of the police who have proven to be not the most trustworthy. It would be interesting to see the whole video (from the second she was apparently asked to show her proof of paid travel and refused). I don't buy the police story that everyone seems to have blindly agreed must be the only truth.

So the only reason she was arrested was because she refused to show her ticket? nothing else happened that was just it?

Thats a very comprehensive defence of the woman in that controversial video. Please post the proof

It's 2023 and racist fools on here cast aspersions without knowing - you don't get a ticket on a London bus. There is no ticket to refuse to show.

You tap your Oyster Card, which is what this lady did. A bus inspector uses a handheld machine placed on Oyster Card, to check fare is paid. The bus inspectors in this case, made an error in thinking she hadn't paid. So they called the police - which isn't the norm at all actually. They were heavy handed. Additionally TFL fare payment doesn't immediately show on Bank app anyway - and not everybody has Bank app on their phone anyway, not is anyone obliged to show a bank statement.

The Inspector could simply have issued a penalty notice then the passenger would dispute it, and no doubt win since by that time, fare payment was show up. It happens. Calling police is needlessly looking for drama and trouble but it's Croydon, they likely looked forward to seeing a Black Woman arrested and in distress.

The local MP is involved and thankfully doesn't appear to be so dimly racist as several of you are. Nor the onlookers who at least have a sense of justice.

This is the most abhorrent board on MN - complaining about women's rights all the time but 1st to disbelieve and tear down a woman when she's a different race and colour than you. You set women's rights back by years hence can't achieve anything in respect of rights,and can't even see yourselves as how silly you are.

I won't bother to scroll up but I bet the 'Well I'm Black too (sure you are...) but she was in the wrong' crew are already on here.

this makes sense to me. Being asked to re-swipe her card could be construed as being asked to pay again? Or in itself being accused of not paying?

If there is one thing that drives me up the wall it is the smugness of the (majority of?) people who can cope with modern concepts like not having a ticket and think that because they can everyone can and if they can't; well it is their own fault for being stupid.

Why can't they just issue tickets, I'm pretty sure this would be the root cause if properly investigated

The evidence was posted at the end of the thread on the topic. Did you see it?

Is that a fact and is there proof that she was abusive prior to the police arriving? We simply cannot say from this clip. I’m surprised a mother would want to traumatise her small child in this way. Poor baby.

Unless that wasn’t clear, I was meaning I don’t think it was staged.

Because TfL don't do tickets?

So if you are asked for a ticket and you don't have one...erm...prepare for the worst.

TfL don't issue tickets.

Upsetting footage but as a mother i would never just walk away when asked to show my ticket. What was she thinking of allowing the situation to escalate like that in front of her child. Ridiculous situation all round. Poor child.

This is racist- the actions of the police in this video are racist. And the posters on this thread throwing out their doubts and what they would have done/how it's her own fault, are racist.
I've lurked on this corner of mumsnet for a long time but the racism is so awful and it's driving me away. And others too I would think.

Ticket inspectors come with the police on the Manchester tram. They do operations to clamp down on fare evasion which is a big problem on some routes.
I hate the idea of tapping in and out. I think it's fraught with difficulties. Give me a real ticket every time.

Please just go and look at the actual results of the actual incident that many of us have now read.

She had paid for it and she picked one that was available. How was she to know that he had 'bagsied' it for his own personal use?

“Fled the bus” 🙄

She had paid her £1.75 fare. It's mostly done by contactless credit card in London. Some people still have Oyster cards. Cash is not accepted and no tickets are issued. It's difficult to sneak onto a London bus in towns.

Imagine a busy mum who’s caring for a young child and has somewhere to be sees ticket police board at her stop and, rather than wait around after a completed, paid for journey, gets off. Police choose to pursue her in the street and protest from the mother emboldens them to restrain, handcuff and arrest her in front of her young child. Anyone defending this is advocating for a terrifying society.

If it had of been the case that she’d duped tfl out of £1.75, then swore at the Met officers questioning her, handling such a case with physical restraint, handcuffs and arrest (in the presence of her child!) is STILL not the response of a civilised police force. It’s even against the Peel principles the boss of the Met has promised. Those who support such a disproportionate response (“well if she was abusive she deserved it etc”) are scary, possibly police, very likely racist. You love the idea the police are always right and keep you secure more than you like the idea of a fair and equal society.

The Met comment reads as police statement bingo too. The public don't know the full story. The wrongful arrest (plus manhandling, trauma) was justified. An ambiguous claim about the person 'becoming abusive'. Suggestion police were reasonable for “letting” the person go.

Also helpful to be aware of some of the other instances of how an overwhelmingly white police force treat black Croydon residents. Like the child aggressively arrested in the street by police who pinned him to the ground after he went out to buy toilet paper. The man stopped for wearing a coat in warm weather!

It'd be interesting to see the reaction if it was a white mum in Dulwich getting physically mauled by two coppers in front of little Arlo or Ottilie because she hopped off the bus at her stop and told them she was late for the school run. More people here would be appalled by unnecessary and aggressive shows of power from a force that’s in special measures and attracts and enables people like Wayne Couzens and the rest.

Oh god, remember how outraged people were when those two blonde ladies were arrested for having a coffee in Covid? All hell broke loose. Got a spot in prune time TV too. Wonder what's different now.

*prime

The only person who made the child cry was her mother who refused to show proof of payment. I travel on buses all the time and it's quite normal for TFL officers to come on and check people have paid. Why should she not be subject to the same scrutiny as everyone else?

Bus drivers and staff get loads of abuse from people. She was in the wrong. This could all have been avoided.

They have readers to check the Oysters but if she paid with a bank card how do they check that? I'm not handing over a card to be read either.

i don't think that's true. (middle-aged white woman here)
I am not in the UK but i do notice that when the ticket inspectors come through our train, they are usually quite abrupt with non-white, people (either sex) and young men (any colour).

So without knowing how the request/demand was made for proof of payment, i think I'll believe black women when they say this is a regular occurrence and wonder, again, how i can help if i see things like this.

He ran because he was being chased by armed police. She was asked for proof of purchasing a ticket, by a ticket inspector. She refused and walked off. The police, who were there to support the ticket inspectors in their work then stepped in.
In what world do you think its OK that ticket inspectors need a police escort to carry out their job?

'They have readers to check the Oysters but if she paid with a bank card how do they check that? I'm not handing over a card to be read either.'

You don't have to hand over your bank card. You tap it on the reader and they can see that you have paid. Don't be so ridiculous.

You would have known that you hadn’t paid for your ticket because your phone wouldn't have bleeped.