A father who was handcuffed and arrested while on his way to collect his children from school has been awarded compensation from a police force following a claim for assault.
The man, who runs his own business in Brough in East Riding of Yorkshire, said he suffered bruising and nerve injury to his arm after the incident involving a Humberside Police officer.
Following a civil claim for assault, where he was represented by Hudgell Solicitors, the force has now agreed to pay the man a damages award.
“I’m pleased they have finally acknowledged what happened to me – that I was injured, because up until now they had insisted there was no case to answer,” said the father who does not wish to be identified.
The incident, which happened in the summer of 2022, followed a report to police earlier that day of an alleged assault having taken place.
‘I had to explain to the school that I couldn’t come as I’d been arrested’
As the father was leaving his home to collect his children from school he noticed a police car a short distance away, “As I walked past the officer got out, asked me my name and then told me to get in the car. I told him I was going to pick my kids up and could he wait until I got back, which would be in five minutes, but he didn’t believe me,” he recalled.
“He insisted I should get in the car as he wanted to talk to me about a reported assault. Then he was putting his hands on my chest and stomach to stop me walking away.”
The father-of-two, says the officer told him he was arresting him and he was handcuffed and put in the back of the police car. At that point, the school rang him to ask why he had not yet collected his children. “It was all really embarrassing and completely unnecessary. People were watching in the street and then I had to explain to the school that I couldn’t come as I’d been arrested.”
After two more officers arrived a short time later in another car, calls and checks were carried out regarding the alleged assault and Daniel was de-arrested and no charges were made against him.
“Later that night my wrist turned yellow with bruising and I had to go to an urgent treatment centre with soft tissue and nerve injuries which lasted months due to the handcuffs being on too tight,” he said.
The man subsequently made a complaint to Humberside Police and asked for the incident to be investigated, but he says, he was told the officer’s bodycam was not turned on and there was no case to answer for the alleged assault. A subsequent complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct was also not upheld.
‘The physical force used was unreasonable’
After contacting Hudgell Solicitors, his case was taken on by Alexandra Eldon, a solicitor specialising in actions against the police.
“We had our concerns about this case. We felt our client had been arrested and detained with no reasonable explanation and we thought the officer had taken a heavy-handed approach towards our client and the physical force used was unreasonable.
“Not only has my client had to live with the physical pain of his injuries but the incident was also highly embarrassing and distressing and risked damaging his reputation in the local community.”
Following a civil claim of assault against Humberside Police the force has now agreed to pay the man compensation.
“It has never been about the money; it was about getting the police to acknowledge what had happened to me and this award for damages does that.
“The legal action has been a positive experience for me. It’s a ten out of ten for Hudgells and Alexandra has been great, she’s always been there,” he said.
Alexandra added: “In our experience of actions against police, we often find that our clients feel they have been failed by police forces’ own internal complaints process and officers are not fully held to account; civil claims can provide a degree of acknowledgement and closure.”
Police Assault Compensation Claims
Any physical force used in the course of a police officer carrying out their lawful duties must be necessary, reasonable, and proportionate.
If an officer is found to have used excessive force when arresting or restraining an individual – which also considers the use of batons, tear gas, taser guns, or firearms – then it may be considered to be assault.
We understand that for many, an acceptance of wrongdoing and an apology is just as important as any compensation settlement.
