Police No Longer Have Carte Blanche To Assault Members Of The Public

PC James Kiddie went too far when he arrested suspected shoplifter Sarah Reed. The incident happened in November 2012 but it was not until March 2014 that Kiddie was tried for and convicted of common assault.

In April 2009, a police officer was filmed assaulting a woman at a protest in London. Although charged, he was acquitted against the weight of the evidence. For decades rather than years the police in London, the UK and worldwide have assaulted, fitted up and occasionally murdered members of the public while the courts and politicians have looked the other way.

There seems now to be a sea change, possibly on account of the recent plebgate scandal. In November 2012, PC James Kiddie was called to a shop in Regent Street, one of the UK’s and the world’s busiest shopping hubs for tourists domestic and foreign. At the store he arrested Sarah Reed on suspicion of shoplifting. Miss Reed had indeed been shoplifting, apparently to feed her drug habit. She was also described as a difficult and aggressive woman, but police officers are professionals who are trained to respond to aggression with a proportionate degree of force. It is clear from the CCTV of the encounter between the officer of the law and the common criminal that the response of PC James Kiddie was neither professional nor proportionate, and for once, a court agreed. Kiddie was found guilty of common assault by District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe. Although he was given a slap on the wrist and ordered to pay a total of £560 costs and victim surcharge, his career will almost certainly be over because of previous, albeit non-violent findings on his disciplinary record.

Leaving aside the viciousness of this attack, PC Kiddie should have had more sense than to attempt to manhandle a woman in a situation where there was no immediate danger to the public or a flight risk. He should have waited for the arrival of a female offficer for reasons too obvious to state here, CCTV or no CCTV.

On the other side of the country, a police officer is facing a misconduct hearing in connection with an allegation that he used “excessive force” against a teenage boy who suffers from learning difficulties. As this case has yet to be decided, it would not be proper to comment on it except to say that the officer concerned, PC Greg Macrae, appears to be in need of proper training rather than punishment. The same cannot be said for PC Kiddie.

[The above article was first published March 11, 2014. Sarah Reed was a head case. In January 2016, she committed suicide while being held on remand in Holloway Prison awaiting trial for grievous bodily harm with intent. In June 2014, PC Gregory Macrae was cleared of using excessive force by a disciplinary hearing although he was ordered to undergo further training.]

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