Grandfather gets £5k police payout over assault and false imprisonment
When grandfather Eddie Blakeway visited a police station to report a hit-and-run accident, little did he know he would end up being bundled into a cell for nine hours after an accusation of being violent.
The 49-year-old, from Halesowen, had dropped into Halesowen police station to report a hit-and-run driver had damaged his son's van, but was thrown to the floor by three officers who 'dumped their knees in his back' before hauling him to a cell.
He has since reached an out-of-court settlement with police for assault and false imprisonment and the force has paid him £5,000 compensation.
Mr Blakeway was told by the duty officer that the crime form he had filled in could not be accepted because he did not have original documentation, but when the part-time lorry driver complained he was bundled to the ground by officers who handcuffed him and hauled him into a cell. He said: "When the inspector arrived, he said I was being aggressive and asked me 'to get out of his station'.
"They threw me to the floor. They dumped their knees in my back. I couldn't walk properly afterwards. He phoned the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after the incident. Police pressed charges but Mr Blakeway was cleared in March 2010. He then pursued the compensation claim for assault and in December the force agreed to pay Mr Blakeway compensation.
Bryn Thomas, head of civil litigation for West Midlands Police, said: "At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found, as a matter of fact, that Mr Blakeway had not been told that he was under arrest and, therefore, as a matter of law his arrest and all that followed was unlawful.
There was an internal investigation into the actions of the sergeant but no action was taken as the complaint was not upheld. There is no official complaint recorded against the inspector's name."
