Court awards HNK Solicitors client over £87,000 from The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police

HNK Solicitors recently successfully supported a client at trial who was subsequently awarded £87,411.67 in damages and legal costs from The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police for trespass to property, false arrest and imprisonment and assault and battery.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act “PACE” clearly sets out the rules that officers must follow in order to make a lawful arrest. If these rules are not adhered to, then this can be classed as false or wrongful arrest and any detainment from would be false imprisonment. Police are permitted under PACE to use “reasonable force”, however if the force is excessive or deemed unreasonable due to the situation, this can be classed as assault or battery by police.

You should not accept mistreatment by the police. There are rules in place for a reason, and if these are not abided by, you could be entitled to claim compensation. Mistreatment by police is unacceptable and deeply distressing and it can lead to long-lasting effects. This is why it’s important for those who have been a victim of police mistreatment to seek redress so they don’t get away with it, and so they can move on from the incident. If you have been mistreated by police, you could be eligible to make an action against the police claim for compensation.

Background of the case

On 3^rd May 2019, the Defendant’s officers attended our client SF’s property, following a call they had received. SF and his partner were going through a break-up. Our client advised his now ex-partner to go through Solicitors in relation to the items within the property.

Our client agreed to pass their partner’s items to the Defendant’s officers and requested for the return of their key.

Our client passed various items belonging to his partner to the Defendant’s officers. SF requested the return of his key which was refused. Due to this refusal, SF no longer wanted to pass items through and again, expressed his wishes of going through Solicitors in relation to the items within the property.

The Defendant’s Officer then shoulder barged his way into the property resulting in injuries to the Claimant.

Our client was arrested on suspicion of theft. After around 32 minutes, once their ex-partner had collected all her items, our client was de-arrested.

The civil case for damages

The Claimant instructed HNK Solicitors in August 2019, to represent him against The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and Vivien Lee had conduct of the case on behalf of HNK.

A Letter of Claim was served on the Defendant, claiming damages for trespass to the property, false arrest and imprisonment and assault and battery.

The Defendant denied liability to the claim on the basis that the Defendant’s officer had reasonable grounds to suspect the Claimant committed the offence of theft and that the arrest was necessary as the officer believed our client would damage his partner’s belongings and had no plans to return them.

The Defendant failed to engage in settlement negotiations, resulting in court proceedings being issued and a 4-day jury trial being required.

The Claimant pleaded the following:

• The Defendant’s officer did not have honest or reasonable grounds for suspecting the Claimant had committed an offence as required by section 24 (1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (“PACE”)
• The Defendant’s officer did not have honest or reasonable grounds for believing the arrest was necessary for any of the reasons set out in section 24 (5) PACE.
• The force used against the Claimant was unreasonable and unlawful.

The Defendant filed a Defence, denying the claim on the basis that:

• The Defendant’s officer had reasonable grounds for suspecting that our client was committing the offence of theft.
• The Defendant’s officer had reasonable grounds for believing that our client’s arrest was necessary as he formed the suspicion that our client had an intention to destroy or otherwise dispose of his partner’s property, therefore an arrest was necessary to prevent such. 
• The use of force was reasonable and proportionate. The Defendant did not accept SF’s account that the Defendant’s officer shoulder barged his way into the property. 

Outcome

The matter went to a 4-day trial by jury before HHJ Clarke sitting at Oxford County Court. The Claimant was represented by Vivien Lee of HNK and Adam Keenaghan of KBW Chambers.

The jury delivered unanimous verdicts that the officer did not honestly suspect the Claimant of having committed an offence and our client had successfully proven that the officer barged the door with his shoulder, to force his way into the property and injuring our client.  

During live evidence, one of the Defendant’s officers denied grabbing the Claimant forcefully by the wrist whereas in their MG11 (a police officer’s witness statement given at the time of the incident), he confirmed he did grab the Claimant by the wrist. 

As a result of the jury’s verdicts, our client succeeded in his claim against the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police.

Our client was awarded general damages and aggravated damages to reflect the poor conduct of the officers in both the incident itself and their contradictory evidence given during the trial. The total Judgment was given in the sum of £87,411.67 including legal costs.

HNK Solicitors can help with your action against the police claim

If you have been the victim of police misconduct such as wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, trespass to property or assault and battery, you could be entitled to claim compensation. Seeking compensation can help you to move past the incident and help recover damages for any damage to property, reputational damage, financial losses and injury or emotional distress.

HNK Solicitors have a team of expert action against the police solicitors. We are the leading firm for actions against the police in the UK and can help clients throughout England and Wales, claim compensation against police forces after they’ve have suffered misconduct.

If you want to start a claim against the police, get in touch with our team today on 0151 668 0813 or email us at enquiries@hnksolicitors.com. Alternatively, fill in the online enquiry form here or at the bottom of this page and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your claim in more detail during a free consultation.