Civil Action against the Police: Mr H v The Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis

Close-up of a traditional police lantern, on display outside a police station in central London, England.

HNK have a specialist team of solicitors who are experts in dealing with civil action against the police. If you have ever been the victim of misconduct by the police or feel you have been mistreated whilst in police custody our Actions against the Police Solicitors can help you to obtain the outcome you desire from the police whether this be a formal apology, disciplinary action against the officer(s) involved or compensation for your mistreatment.

Details of the case

Below is an example of a successful Civil Action against the Police case a HNK Solicitor handled on a No-Win-No-Fee agreement after the Claimant was unlawfully imprisoned. In May 2014, Mr H had purchased four broken iPads. The iPads had been advertised on Gumtree and Mr H had undertaken relevant checks to ensure they were not stolen. Mr H repaired the iPads, sold three and kept one.

On 9th September, Mr H received a call from a DC K of the Metropolitan Police. Mr H was invited to Romford Police Station to discuss the iPad’s with DC K. Mr H attended the station and brought along the iPad that he had not sold and was interviewed by DC K. DC K seized the iPad and informed Mr H that he could either accept a warning or admit to handling stolen goods. Mr H was given time to consider his options and return to the station.

Mr H attended an arranged appointment at the station with a Solicitor however DC K was unavailable. Then on 2nd October, Mr H received a call from DC K asking him to attend the station, which he did. Mr H was arrested on attendance and imprisoned overnight. The following morning Mr H was escorted to Barkingside Magistrates’ Court.

A picture of a man being arrested by police, his hands are handcuffed behind his back

Issues

In March 2016, Mr H approached Higgs Newton Kenyon Solicitors to act on his behalf in the matter. After discussing the case with him we were happy to accept instructions on a No-Win-No-Fee agreement. HNK had concerns that the arrest and subsequent imprisonment on 2nd October was unlawful on the basis that the Defendant had no lawful authority or reasonable excuse to arrest H given the summons issued on 28th August 2015 was backed for bail. Further, H should have been released on bail to attend Court at a later date following his attendance at Romford Police Station.

HNK also regarded the seizure of H’s iPad constituted a trespass to property and put them to strict proof. Finally, HNK considered that the prosecution of H was malicious given the prosecution afforded the Court no evidence and H suffered damage as a result.

An arrest should be fully justified, and the Defendant’s officers concerned should consider if the necessary objective can be met by other, less intrusive means. Code G of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 PACE should be complied with when officers are considering if an arrest should be made and an arrest should never be used simply because it can be used. The Claimant’s demeanour should always be a factor to consider when determining whether an arrest should or should not be made. Given H was not under a lawful arrest, the officers had no lawful authority to justify detention.

The outcome

In November 2017, the Defendant accepted liability on the basis that the detention of H was unlawful as the warrant was backed for bail. The Defendant accepted that H should have been released on bail rather than being detained. It is on these grounds that the Defendant made an offer of £2,000.

However, the Defendant denied that the seizure of H’s iPad was unlawful as there were reasonable grounds to believe that it was stolen. Further, the Defendant rejected the submission that the prosecution was malicious and assert that there was reasonable and probable cause to believe that H was guilty of the offence and there was no improper motive on the part of the officer.

HNK had concerns that the offer put forward by the Defendant was insufficient and made the following submissions. HNK claimed they were concerned about the lawfulness of H’s arrest and imprisonment given the summons had been sent to the wrong address and DC K was aware of this. HNK were of the opinion that as H was not aware of the Court date, it was unnecessary to execute the warrant. Furthermore, it should be noted that H was cooperative and it is prudent to note that he attended the station on his own accord. We were therefore of the opinion that the officers were not acting in the execution of their duties as outlined in PACE.

In light of the above, the Defendant made an offer of £3,000 in February 2018 which was accepted by H and the matter was successfully settled.

An image of the backs of several police officers wearing high visibility jackets stood side by side.

If you need advice or help contact HNK…

If you have been a victim of mistreatment or misconduct by the Police our team of dedicated experts can help you obtain the outcome you desire. We will represent you from the initial complaint to an appeal to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. We represent clients throughout England and Wales in a wide variety of police conduct cases.

If you would like to speak with our specialist team in regards to bringing civil action against the police, contact us today on 0151 203 1104 or email us at enquiries@hnksolicitors.com.