British Army veteran called 'stupid man' by police in wrongful arrest

2022-08-10

Black British Army veteran, 43, sworn at and called a ‘stupid man’ by police as they wrongly arrested him during lockdown wins £30,000 damages

Desmond Acquah drove home from a 12-hour shift on April 26 in Portsmouth
He was stopped by two officers who demanded his name and threatened arrest
Mr Acquah was handcuffed and eventually arrested for public order offence
He spent four hours in custody until senior office reviewed footage
Officer concluded Mr Acquah had been wrongfully arrested and released him

A British Army veteran who was sworn at and called a ‘stupid man’ by police during a wrongful arrest in lockdown has won £30,000 in damages.

Desmond Acquah, 43, was driving home from a 12-hour shift as a key worker on the railways when a police van began to follow him home at about 2am on April 26, 2020.

When he pulled up to his block of flats in Portsmouth two officers, including one PC Thisby, got out of a marked police car, asked for his details and wrongly told him that he could arrested for contesting coronavirus rules if he didn’t provide them.

When Mr Acquah said he was simply returning from work and wanted to go to bed and check on his pregnant girlfriend, the officers asked for his name.

Desmond Acquah (pictured), 43, was driving home from a 12-hour shift as a key worker on the railways when a police van began to follow him home at about 2am on April 26, 2020

Mr Acquah refused to give his name only to be put in handcuffs and pushed against a wall.

He eventually gave his name, even though he wasn’t under any legal obligation to do so, but refused to give other details

He was then threatened with incapacitant spray before more officers arrived and searched him.

One officer said: ‘You’re behaving like a f****** idiot at the moment, shut up.’

And when Mr Acquah asked why he was being pushed against a wall another shouted: ‘Because I don’t want you spitting in my face when you’re shouting you stupid man.’

He was eventually arrested under a public order offence and was forced to spend four hours in custody before a senior officer reviewed body worn camera footage and said he had been wrongfully arrested and released him.

Acquah then sued Hampshire Constabulary but offered to accept a lower settlement in exchange for a public apology. The chief constable of Hampshire, Olivia Pinkey (pictured), refused to give a public apology even though she admitted Mr Acquah had been wrongfully arrested

Acquah then sued Hampshire Constabulary but offered to accept a lower settlement in exchange for a public apology.

The chief constable of Hampshire, Olivia Pinkey, refused to give a public apology even though she admitted Mr Acquah had been wrongfully arrested.

The force then had to pay £30,000 plus legal costs.

Acquah’s lawyer, Iain Gould, said that in a ‘gross over-reach of power’ the police behaved as if they were dealing with a suspected bank robber rather than a tired key worker who was just trying to get home.

Gould said: ‘I am perplexed by the decision of the chief constable to refuse an apology letter and instead write out a bigger cheque from what is, at the end of the day, public funds.’

Acquah served in the army for almost 10 years including tours in Afghanistan.

A spokeswoman for Hampshire police told The Times: ‘We know that we got it wrong and the arrest was not lawful. In the early stages of the pandemic, we were all adapting to quickly changing and unprecedented circumstances.

‘When new regulations were issued, we worked hard to understand and apply these right across policing in order to help support and protect the NHS. However, on this day, the interpretation of the regulations was not correct and we understand the impact this has had on him.’

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