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- Claim that officer also punched man’s friend in face and lied in evidence
- Arresting officer prosecuted and has left Met Police
In a case it did not try to defend, the Metropolitan Police has paid a London man £17,000 damages after he was assaulted by an officer and unlawfully arrested at a birthday party at the O2 Arena in 2013. Omar Mushtaq’s arrest was videoed by himself and his friends and this evidence led to the Metropolitan Police not only dropping its original criminal case against Mr Mushtaq but also immediately making an offer of compensation.
The arresting officer at the incident in February 2013 has since been prosecuted by the Force and has left the Metropolitan Police.
Mr Mushtaq, now aged 27 and from North London, said: “This was a brutal end to a friend’s party. I admit we got a bit loud trying to calm down a drunk friend, but the Police were heavy-handed and aggressive. I was assaulted, arrested and imprisoned. This settlement reflects just how violent the Police were, as can be seen on the video footage.”
‘Aggressive officer punched man in face then lied in evidence’ claim
Terence Channer, of London-based law firm Scott-Moncrieff, said: “This is one of a number of cases we have against the Metropolitan Police and they form a worrying pattern of violence and aggression. We sought an award of aggravated damages because PC Matthew Bassett lied in his evidence, saying my client swore repeatedly at him, and because the attack was unprovoked and in a public place.
“Mr Mushtaq and his friends were not being aggressive and not causing any disturbance to others – they were at a birthday party, trying to calm down a drunk friend. That’s the long and short of it, but the Police response was over the top.
“We know that he also falsified and lied in his written report, claiming he only struck Mr Mushtaq once when the evidence showed the officer hitting him over and over again, including when my client was holding his hands up to demonstrate his lack of resistance. PC Bassett also punched my client’s friend in the face. We argued that PC Bassett deliberately sought to conceal his own misconduct by falsifying his evidence.
“Initially, after he was arrested, Mr Mushtaq was charged with a criminal offence but that charge was swiftly dropped due to a lack of evidence. Instead, we received an immediate offer of compensation from the Metropolitan Police.
“The Police did not challenge our evidence, which we took as a sign that it recognised its response had been wrong from the outset and that this was demonstrated by the video evidence.
“It appears that PC Bassett took offence at being filmed. Filming in a public place is not an unlawful thing to do. In fact, we recommend clients to do this whenever possible – as this case shows, video evidence really helps in cases against the Police.”
