The huge rush of relief which accompanies a “not guilty” verdict in the Crown or Magistrates Court, or the notice that an ongoing prosecution has been discontinued, will often leave the accused ultimately unsatisfied; after the ordeal which they have been through, many people who have been wrongly accused of a crime want, quite understandably, to seek restitution for their initial arrest and the psychological torment they have been put through in the meantime.
Acquittal does not necessarily equate to a valid claim against the Police. The test of “reasonable suspicion” of an offence, which justifies a Police Constable to arrest, being a considerably less stringent one than the test of proving it “beyond reasonable doubt”, which a Crown Prosecutor must satisfy in order to convict. Suspicion means just that – belief that lacks proof; though it should be accompanied by an honest and reasonable belief that proof could be found. In most cases, a third party allegation of an offence will provide the Police with suspicion enough to justify an arrest, and the legality of that arrest will not be undermined if ultimately sufficient proof cannot be found.
However, if your prosecution was driven, not by the malicious or mistaken assertion of a third party, but the false testimony of the Police themselves i.e a case in which it is Police Officers who are the alleged victims of the offence, and who are the primary witnesses called by the Prosecution – then the chances are that you will have a valid civil claim following a “not guilty” verdict, and you should instruct an expert in claims against the Police such as myself, to assess the evidence and advice on the best way forwards. A Police defence of “reasonable suspicion” in the face of a claim for wrongful arrest, can be defeated by proving that the arrest was based on the false testimony of one of their own.
But the abandonment of a prosecution is not an admission of wrongdoing by the Police, nor is a “not guilty” verdict a finding of liability against them. In bringing a civil claim for compensation the responsibility is now on you as the Claimant to persuade the Court that your case is the more probable one; this is what is known as the “burden of proof” and why in my opinion you need an expert solicitor at your side to shoulder that burden.
Here are some notable examples from amongst the hundreds of clients whom I have helped to secure justice in the form of compensation, following an acquittal in the criminal courts or a “dropping of the charges” prior to trial, in relation to the following types of offence –
- Assaulting a Police Constable
- Assaulting an Emergency Worker
- Obstructing a Police Constable in the Execution of their duty
- Resisting Arrest.
Found Not Guilty At Court
My client John Kennedy faced the nightmare situation of a Police ‘welfare visit’ turning into a brutal assault upon him – John left with a severely fractured arm by the two Officers who were supposedly there to ensure his well- being, but he was the one who was prosecuted for assaulting them. Read here about how I was able to help John win justice in the civil courts, and £50,000 damages, following his acquittal in Liverpool Magistrates.
Likewise, my client Mark for whom I won £17,000 damages after Teeside Magistrates found him not guilty of assaulting a Police Officer who had burst into his and his young son’s hotel room.
My client Cedric brought a successful claim for £20,000 damages in the aftermath of the “not guilty” verdict delivered by a Jury at Winchester Crown Court, in relation to an alleged assault upon an emergency worker (PC Castle of Dorset Police).
My client Richard recovered £17,500 as a result of his civil claim against Humberside Police; Richard had been forced to go all the way to trial, only for the Magistrates to determine that he had “no case to answer” after hearing the evidence of the Police Officers against him.
My client Edward, a young black man won £10,000 damages. He was found by Bristol Magistrates to have “no case to answer” in respect of charges of assaulting a Police Officer; but the fact that even after this verdict, Edward’s original actions against the Police solicitors abandoned his claim – which I then took on instead – shows both that a victory in the criminal courts does not automatically equate to a victory in the civil courts, but that I have the expertise to help my clients deliver such a ‘double- whammy’ to the Police.
My client Amir had to suffer all of the stress and tension of being prosecuted and going all the way to Snaresbrook Crown Court,on charges of “assaulting an emergency worker” (PC Hussain of the Metropolitan Police) only for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide to offer no evidence against him on the very morning of the trial – leaving him not so much exhilarated as strangely deflated, denied the chance to clear his name in Court. Thankfully, I was able to take on Amir’s claim and secure damages of £22,500 for him from the Met, which gave him the sense of satisfaction he deserved.
The same experience had befallen my client Ben. Ben was arguing with his partner in her home when officers of Greater Manchester Police, who had been called to attend an entirely separate matter, unnecessarily intervened and ended by beating Ben up on the living room floor, including spraying him with CS gas at point- blank range and knocking one of his teeth loose. Ben was subsequently charged with “resisting arrest” and with assaulting three of the officers who had in fact assaulted him. The case was pursued all the way to trial at the Crown Court – only for the CPS to offer no evidence, leading to “not guilty” verdicts being entered on all three counts. Despite this ‘surrender’ at the Crown Court, the different legal tests which apply to civil claims (where as I have noted above, the burden of proof is upon the Claimant, not upon the Police) meant that GMP denied Ben’s claim for compensation, and we had to take them almost all the way to trial in the County Court before they agreed a payout of £30,000 damages for my client.
Acquittal is therefore often not the end, but the beginning of a journey to full justice. If you have had to fight to clear your name against wrongful charges brought against you for assaulting or obstructing the Police, or if you have seen an Officer who assaulted you walk free from Court, share your story with me and let’s see if together we can take the fight to them.
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