Police strip and violently assault woman in cells....in the UK

[PosieComeHereMyPreciousParker]

I am astonished and ashamed that this can happen in Britain. The victim is taking action against Police....surely the Police should be prosecuting these officers?

disturbing images

Profiterole, my top tip is don't get arrested! Most custody sergeants will allow prisoners to get a number off their phone before bagging it. Of course, you have to be cooperating I order for them to do this. Unless the phone is taken as evidence of course.

funkychunky, good post

The use of the word mother in the headlines is also v emotive, why does it matter if she is a mother?

FunkyChunkyMonkey, good points, well made.

At what point and why are her clothes cut from her body? The article doesn't explain this at all. I have watched the video and don't want to watch it again. I don't think a 'search' requires anybody to be naked, let alone have clothing cut from their body.

Seem to be a lot of rather inflammatory responses to this post. I don't know why we are not supporting this woman who is not a prisoner and has not been charged with any crime at the point this video was taken.

At no point in the footage is she violent, she is screaming out at the end - presumably for help and in pain.

Very shocked. Terrible article by the way, shame on you Sun newspapers.

The charges against the woman were dropped, but can't she charge the police with assault? (Or have I missed something?)

:(

horrible, horrible, horrible.

I was drunk beyond belief and fell off a night bus going in the wrong direction in my first year of living in London. The next thing I remember was waking up in a cell, and I couldn't stop screaming in confusion and sheer terror. I didn't have my watch, jewellery or phone and couldn't work out what had happened. The pigs police opened the cell door to smirk and laugh at me, I still couldn't stop screaming 'get me home, I
wanna go home' and they kept laughing at me and telling me to ask nicely. It was by far the most horrible experience of my entire life. They let me out in the morning, I couldn't stop shaking. Apparently I was lying in the road when they found me and kept telling them to fuck off when they tried to wake me. Still no recollection of this, but it was apparently reason enough to lock me up. DH had to come and collect me and I had to sign a statement that I understood I'd been taken in for my own safety. In that case WTF didn't they take me home and instead spend hours letting me cry and scream in a cell?

Sorry for hijack but IMO police on that occasion found a hysterical female an amusement on a quiet shift :(

In my defence it was a weeknight and I'd been on a uni course in the
evening, joined my friend late for her birthday, was knackered and trying a bit too hard to catch up. I never drink in London without a clear action plan of how to get home now. And am older and wiser, obv.

Yes, they should have taken you home. You weren't committing a crime, were you? It would have been common kindness to take you home. Shame on them.

But it's worth repeating - they're not all like that. Some of them do work hard to keep us safe, and often take risks to protect us.

For info it is an offence to be drunk and disorderly or drunk and incapable.

I have said before on here that like any job there are bad police officers. Everyone remembers one bad incident with the police more than ten good experiences. However there are a hell of a lot more dedicated and caring officers who do a bloody good job in protecting and serving the British public.

The CCTV footage that was shown is disjointed and does not show the full incident therefore I will reserve judgement. After the day I have had I think I will hide this thread and look for light entertainment on the Christmas topic

I think they did take you in for your own safety. If they had left you lying there, you would have been in danger. Unless you live around the corner, I don't think it is reasonable to expect them to take you home. They are busy and have other important tasks to do.

But Claig they wouldn't even let me out! I just wanted out, and to go home - I wasn't asking then to chauffeur me home. It was how they treated me in the cell that I think was very wrong. They were laughing at me and treated me with total disdain, when I was terrified and screaming for help. I was in total disbelief that they wouldn't let me out. I do accept that they were justified in taking me in, but not then in keeping me there against my will or laughing at me and treating me so cruelly.

And I thought they were going to say I was drunk and disorderly but they
didn't, I wasn't charged with anything. But y'know, I was no innocent, I deserved what
I got

I'm off, sorry for hijack, still stings.

ooooozathon - if you were looked up for being drunk and incapable, which is what I would presume you were, you can't be released until you are sober.

There is no charge for being drunk and incapable and it is for your own safety. If you had been left in the road what do you think would have happened? You could have been hit by a car, mugged, raped, assaulted, choked on your own vomit and died... the list is endless. What kind of description would you have been able to give of any attacker? You don't even remember the Police taking you from in the middle of the road.

'At no point is she violent'

No but she IS resisting and pulling away from them. Everybody knows you don't fight or resist the police and that is what she was doing.

Honestybox - The article doesn't say why her clothes were cut from her body. That is quite drastic action and as such I am led to think there was a good reason. She might have been covered in petrol and refusing to remove her hazardous clothes?

There are so many holes in the newspaper article that no one except the woman and the officers really know what happened.

I've just been watching a programme called Coppers, I think, in which a young girl is taken to be strip searched by two female officers - but a male officer followed them into the room! The girl had been arrested for drugs but was behaving perfectly normally.

I understand she had to be strip-searched, but with a man present? Plus there was CCTV in the cell, which didn't look as if it had been turned off (but there was a notice papered over it on the desk officer's monitor).

I'm sorry to be obsessing about this. I just hate the idea of men being in such a position of power over women - especially vulnerable women in police cells.

Are you sure it was a male officer grannie? some people do just look a bit erm masculine.

If a female prisoner is being strip searched and is cooperating then two female officers will conduct the search. No males will be present. If a male is being searched and is cooperating then two male officers will conduct the search, no female officers will be present.

It was a man, I think! But maybe he wasn't actually going to follow them into the cell ...

It would go against PACE for a male officer to be present during a strip search of a female.

It would be 2 female officers, if the prisoner was violent then maybe 3.

What's PACE, SixtyFootDoll? is it a rule or a guideline?