{"id":157682,"date":"2026-08-06T06:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T06:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/157682\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T06:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T06:30:09","slug":"woman-wrongly-arrested-over-riots-feels-violated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/157682\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman wrongly arrested over riots feels ‘violated’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman who was wrongly arrested on suspicion of throwing bricks at police officers during the Southport riots has told how she “felt violated”.<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Cowdall, 53, was shopping at Marks and Spencer when she was alerted by her digital doorbell to eight police officers on the driveway of her home in Toxteth, Liverpool.<\/p>\n

Former traffic warden Cowdall was held in custody for more than four hours before Merseyside Police accepted she was not a rioter captured on CCTV footage, based partly on a distinctive birthmark on her arm.<\/p>\n

The force has now settled a legal claim for wrongful arrest, but denies any fault and told the BBC it had acted on information “deemed reliable at the time”.<\/p>\n

Cowdall, who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), said she felt like she had been “burgled” after returning home to find her neatly organised and colour co-ordinated wardrobes – and even her underwear drawer – had been rifled through by officers during a search.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think I’ve been in shock or traumatised as much as I was when my parents passed away, because I couldn’t get my head round what has happened, and it was the same,” she said.<\/p>\n

Mass disorder began in Southport on 30 July 2024, the day after three schoolgirls – Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar – were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town on 29 July 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fuelled by misinformation spreading on social media, the rioting spread nationally and led to hundreds of people being prosecuted and jailed.<\/p>\n

It later emerged that Merseyside Police had received a tip-off suggesting Cowdall was the woman pictured in the footage, and compared it to a three-year-old photograph, which they concluded was similar enough to arrest her.<\/p>\n

Cowdall said she went “jelly-legged” on 27 March last year when she saw the large contingent of officers at her front door.<\/p>\n

She said: “I was like is everything ok? Is everything ok with my family?”.<\/p>\n

Cowdall was able to speak with officers over her digital doorbell app, who said they needed to speak to her “urgently”, refusing to explain any further.<\/p>\n

She was ordered to attend Edge Hill police station “within the hour”, which she agreed to do.<\/p>\n

\"Some<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Cowdall, who has OCD, said she was devastated to find that her neatly organised clothing including her underwear drawer had been searched [Handout]<\/p>\n

When she arrived, with a neighbour alongside her for moral support, she was immediately placed under arrest and driven to a custody suite in Belle Vale.<\/p>\n

The officers also took her house keys after she consented to a search, which she later learned was to look for clothing the suspect had been recorded wearing on the day.<\/p>\n

She was escorted to a cell where she was left “beside myself with worry” for about four hours before being interviewed.<\/p>\n

Her confusion grew in the interview room when she said she was asked how she would feel if a “migrant lived next door”.<\/p>\n

“I said I’d welcome them with a good dinner,” Cowdall recalled.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Doorbell footage showing officers arriving at Cowdall’s door [Jacqueline Cowdall]<\/p>\n

“I grew up in Liverpool 8 all my life, full of diversity you know. I don’t see colour or religion, I just see people, so I was a bit bamboozled.”<\/p>\n

She was then told she would be shown CCTV footage of her throwing bricks at police officers in Southport.<\/p>\n

“They showed me the video footage of the girl, you know, all bricks flying and vans getting hit, coppers getting hit, you name it, it was happening,” Cowdall said.<\/p>\n

“I’m like, that’s clearly not me. He was like ‘no, it clearly is you’.”<\/p>\n

Cowdall stuck to her guns said she started pointing out to the interviewing officers obvious differences between her appearance and the woman in the video.<\/p>\n

She highlighted the fact the woman appeared to be younger and had a larger build, a smaller nose and lighter skin.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The real suspect was later arrested and prosecuted [Merseyside Police]<\/p>\n

But it was when she took off her top to reveal a birthmark on her right arm – which was not present on the woman in the video – that the penny dropped.<\/p>\n

“I said, ‘well, did I forget to put that on for the occasion?'” Cowdall recalled.<\/p>\n

“That’s when they were sort of all looking at each other, as if to say, ‘oh, right, OK’.”<\/p>\n

After the interview concluded, Cowdall was placed back into a cell for more than an hour – fearing she would be remanded in custody – before being told she would be released with no further action.<\/p>\n

When she returned home she said she was devastated to find the results of the search.<\/p>\n

“Everything was just ransacked and everything was just misplaced everywhere,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I felt like not only were they looking at it, they were removing it from one place to another, which was unnecessary.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Cowdall said she was devastated to learn he clothes, including her underwear draw, had been rifled through [Handout]<\/p>\n

Cowdall’s solicitor, Erin Sunderland, of law firm Broudie Jackson Canter, said the fact her client had attended the station voluntarily meant an arrest had been “unnecessary”.<\/p>\n

“Mistakes can happen, but to be arrested, that’s one of the most significant intrusions on somebody’s liberty that can take place,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think it can really be minimised down to just a simple mistake, a few hours in police custody, no further action, no problem, because Jacqueline is going to have to live with this impact.”<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said Cowdall’s arrest came as part of an investigation into “appalling” large-scale disorder which required a “huge volume” of CCTV to be reviewed.<\/p>\n

The force said: “As part of this approach, we circulated images of certain people in the public domain and this led to information that identified this individual.<\/p>\n

“Having received that information, Merseyside Police were duty bound to take steps to investigate the report.<\/p>\n

“The information was deemed to be reliable at the time and we acted with the aim of seeking justice and protecting our communities.”<\/p>\n

The force confirmed the woman filmed attacking police had since been identified and prosecuted.<\/p>\n

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds<\/a> and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.<\/p>\n

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