Poor police. Don’t take action – police’s fault. Take action – police’s fault.
For those who won’t take the time to read the article, here’s a cliffnotes version:
>The incident arose from concerns that Karen had about her son; she was worried that he was being bullied at school
>She had reported the matter to the school but they had seemed disinterested
>He had marks around his neck which Karen was concerned could have been caused by another boy (although her son denied this)
>Karen therefore contacted the Police.
>At approximately 3.30am on 25 December two officers of Merseyside Police, including PC Percival, attended at Karen’s home and spoke to her and her son
>The subsequent Complaint Investigation Report arising from this incident states that it was clear from the body camera footage that the Officers believed the marks to Karen’s son’s neck to be some sort of rash rather than as a result of an assault
>Indeed, PC Percival now sought to re-assure Karen that the marks on her son’s neck were like eczema and the advice by the Officers was that Karen should take her son to a Walk-in-Centre for treatment
>However, around an hour later the two Officers returned to Karen’s house and PC Percival explained to Karen that they had spoken to their Sergeant and had concerns about her son owing to the fact that Karen appeared to be intoxicated at the time of their first visit and therefore not in a position to care for him
>Karen was understandably upset by this and asked to be left alone and for the Officers to leave her home
>Karen started to shout at the Officers, whereupon PC Percival handcuffed her
>This action further escalated Karen’s anger and **the Officers then informed Karen that she was now under arrest to prevent a breach of the peace and she was taken outside to a Police van**, with the Police arranging for Karen’s son to be taken to his grandmother’s house
>Meanwhile PC Percival spoke to Karen, who was now in the rear ‘cage’ section of the van and **told her that if she calmed down and cooperated, she could be de-arrested**
>Karen, who was traumatised at being handcuffed in her home and separated from her young son on Christmas Day, **angrily replied that she would be making a complaint and demanded the Officer’s name and number**
>A mere matter of minutes later, **PC Percival informed Karen that she was now also under arrest on suspicion of a Section 47 assault occasioning actual bodily harm upon her son** (i.e in relation to the marks upon his neck)
Pretty crystal clear instance of the police using arrest as a revenge tool in direct response to the mother threatening to file a complaint against them.
PC Percival! Outstanding.
The officers seem unable to comprehend why a mother might get hysterical over being accused of abusing her child, especially as she had called them to deal with someone else assaulting her child. I can understand them wanting to do what is best for the child but they had no evidence to suggest the mother was in any way responsible, just a hunch. That is nowhere near enough evidence to arrest someone on such serious charges.
Police in the UK are a disgrace,
​
Hope she milked every penny she could from them
Police in the UK are disgrace, is not the first time I heard of stories like this.
6 comments
Poor police. Don’t take action – police’s fault. Take action – police’s fault.
For those who won’t take the time to read the article, here’s a cliffnotes version:
>The incident arose from concerns that Karen had about her son; she was worried that he was being bullied at school
>She had reported the matter to the school but they had seemed disinterested
>He had marks around his neck which Karen was concerned could have been caused by another boy (although her son denied this)
>Karen therefore contacted the Police.
>At approximately 3.30am on 25 December two officers of Merseyside Police, including PC Percival, attended at Karen’s home and spoke to her and her son
>The subsequent Complaint Investigation Report arising from this incident states that it was clear from the body camera footage that the Officers believed the marks to Karen’s son’s neck to be some sort of rash rather than as a result of an assault
>Indeed, PC Percival now sought to re-assure Karen that the marks on her son’s neck were like eczema and the advice by the Officers was that Karen should take her son to a Walk-in-Centre for treatment
>However, around an hour later the two Officers returned to Karen’s house and PC Percival explained to Karen that they had spoken to their Sergeant and had concerns about her son owing to the fact that Karen appeared to be intoxicated at the time of their first visit and therefore not in a position to care for him
>Karen was understandably upset by this and asked to be left alone and for the Officers to leave her home
>Karen started to shout at the Officers, whereupon PC Percival handcuffed her
>This action further escalated Karen’s anger and **the Officers then informed Karen that she was now under arrest to prevent a breach of the peace and she was taken outside to a Police van**, with the Police arranging for Karen’s son to be taken to his grandmother’s house
>Meanwhile PC Percival spoke to Karen, who was now in the rear ‘cage’ section of the van and **told her that if she calmed down and cooperated, she could be de-arrested**
>Karen, who was traumatised at being handcuffed in her home and separated from her young son on Christmas Day, **angrily replied that she would be making a complaint and demanded the Officer’s name and number**
>A mere matter of minutes later, **PC Percival informed Karen that she was now also under arrest on suspicion of a Section 47 assault occasioning actual bodily harm upon her son** (i.e in relation to the marks upon his neck)
Pretty crystal clear instance of the police using arrest as a revenge tool in direct response to the mother threatening to file a complaint against them.
PC Percival! Outstanding.
The officers seem unable to comprehend why a mother might get hysterical over being accused of abusing her child, especially as she had called them to deal with someone else assaulting her child. I can understand them wanting to do what is best for the child but they had no evidence to suggest the mother was in any way responsible, just a hunch. That is nowhere near enough evidence to arrest someone on such serious charges.
Police in the UK are a disgrace,
​
Hope she milked every penny she could from them
Police in the UK are disgrace, is not the first time I heard of stories like this.