I recently secured £15,000 compensation for Chloe Cannon after serious police investigative failures led to her wrongful arrest for GBH in a case of mistaken identity. Despite clear differences between Chloe and the real suspect, she was arrested at her nursery workplace, handcuffed, detained and transported to custody.
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100% of this week’s blog post was generated by me, the human.
£15,000 Damages for “Mistaken Identity” arrest arising from Police investigative failures
This week’s blog post concerns yet another “mistaken identity” arrest apparently arising from slip-shod Policing, compounded by their failure to uphold my client’s subsequent complaint, and deserves to be highlighted for both of those reasons. When most individuals are lazy or below-par in their job, the consequences for others are fairly limited; in the case of Police officers the consequences for others can potentially be catastrophic, as my client Chloe Cannon found out to her horror in July last year – because she was put at risk of losing her career. The stain and stigma of a Police arrest is not something that can be easily shrugged off, particularly not if you work in a position of trust with young children.
Wrongful Arrest for GBH After a Police Mistaken Identity Error
Chloe, who was an apprentice “nursery nurse” was at her place of work, a nursery school in Essex, preparing to sit a vocational exam when she got the worst possible interruption – a visit from the Police. Chloe was asked to step outside by the officers, one of whom, PC Brockman, then informed her that she was under arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to commit “GBH”. In her shock, Chloe had to ask what GBH was. The officer explained the offence – Grievous Bodily Harm – and then went on to state that my client had been seen to “attend an address where a male has had his head stamped on and left himself in critical condition”.
Handcuffed and Arrested at Work in Front of Colleagues and Parents
Chloe was then handcuffed and searched – in view not only of her work colleagues but also parents attending the nursery. Chloe knew nothing about this unsettling accusation and said as much, to which PC Brockman told her to keep quiet and to keep her “thoughts and opinions” to herself.
Chloe became as distressed as any person of good character, to whom adverse Police interaction is an alien experience, would be, especially when they genuinely know nothing of the subject matter of the accusation.
Detained at Southend Police Station Following the Wrongful Arrest
She was then transported to Southend Police Station, still in handcuffs, and brought before the Custody Sergeant, “processed”, asked intrusive personal/ medical questions and “mug- shotted.” Her fingerprints, a urine sample and her DNA were taken; thus do the Police “medicalise” and data-mine the custody process, stripping detainees of their dignity as well as their autonomy in an environment which can be described as a hybrid between a prison and a hospital. This causes particular anguish if you know that you are innocent, but are totally in the dark as to why this is being done to you, or what the final outcome will be.
CCTV Evidence Raised Clear Questions About the Police’s Identification
After several hours, Chloe was formally interviewed and asked about her whereabouts on a given day, earlier that week. During the interview, she was shown CCTV footage of a car which officers said was similar to her own; in fact, it lacked a “spoiler” – a clear identifying feature of her own vehicle.
A Simple Tattoo Check Exposed the Mistaken Identity
Chloe was then returned to her cell, where she spent a miserable few hours, before she was visited by a Sergeant who, a little late in the day, asked if she had been spoken to about whether she had any tattoos. Chloe confirmed that she did, and described their locations. Shortly thereafter, she was taken from the cell and photographs were taken of the tattoo on her left thigh.
After more intolerable waiting, now into the evening, Chloe was interviewed for a second time and shown CCTV footage of a woman who was apparently the real suspect. When it was put to Chloe that she was the woman in the video, Chloe pointed out that this woman had a clearly visible tattoo on her right leg – which Chloe did not.
The Serious Consequences of a Wrongful Arrest and Police Record
Shortly thereafter, she was released from Custody on conditional bail. As with many people, however, she found that her physical ‘escape’ was far from the end of her arrest ordeal. Events weighed heavily on her mentally, and she struggled to sleep, all the more so when the next day she had to explain to her employer what had happened – and as a consequence was suspended without pay. She had also missed her examination, delaying her qualification as a nursery practitioner. Chloe’s mind was racing with bad thoughts of what was going to happen next, particularly the effect that an arrest for “GBH” would have upon her career, as an Enhanced DBS check (Disclosure & Barring Service) can reveal arrests even if those arrests did not result in a conviction.
Essex Police Confirmed Chloe Had No Involvement in the Offence
Things seemed to be going from bad to worse but, thankfully, the penny had finally dropped at the Police station and later that day Chloe received a call from DC Portbury to inform her that no further action would be taken against her. Furthermore, DC Portbury contacted my client’s employer by email and confirmed that she had ‘no involvement in this offence and was in the wrong place at the wrong time’.
Essex Police Reject Chloe’s Complaint About Her Mistaken Identity Arrest
In a classic example of how useless the Police Complaints system is, when it comes to achieving answers, redress and accountability, my client’s prompt complaint about this matter was summarily rejected with the following “plastic smile” response from Essex Police –
“I hope this message finds you well. I am sorry to hear of your current dissatisfaction with Essex Police and distress being arrested has caused you. Whilst I appreciate the inconvenience this situation may have caused you, it was unfortunately necessary to proceed with your arrest at the time, as you were a suspect in an ongoing investigation. I hope you have since been able to return to work and are now feeling in a clearer and more settled state of mind.”
The Failure of the Police Complaints System to Provide Accountability
In other words: no explanation and no apology. Time and time again, the Police block-headedly fail to see complaints as opportunities, rather than obstacles; the opportunity to give an open and honest response to the complaint, and thereby to serve the public better, to improve their own reputation, and potentially reduce the number of compensation claims brought against them. Instead, they tend to treat every complaint as a challenge, obfuscate and argue, and use the word “sorry” as the first brick in a barricade between themselves and the public, rather than a bridge.
Essex Police Admit Liability for False Imprisonment and Human Rights Breaches
As I have also written on this blog, time and time again, the fact that the Police themselves did not really believe their own denial was borne out by the fact that once I was instructed to send a formal letter of claim to Essex Police on Chloe’s behalf, liability was rapidly conceded – for False Imprisonment, Assault and Battery, Trespass to Goods and Breach of Chloe’s Article 5 right to liberty and Article 8 right to private and family life, under the European Convention on Human Rights.
How Basic Police Investigative Failures Led to an Unnecessary Arrest
Quite clearly, Chloe’s arrest had never been “necessary” – and, if the Police had taken basic investigative steps to identify the correct suspect, could have been entirely avoided. Essex Police, it seems, were prepared to admit this when threatened with Court action – but not when they “merely” had the complaint of a distressed and innocent member of the public to deal with.
£15,000 Compensation for Wrongful Arrest and Mistaken Identity
I have now secured for Chloe £15,000 damages from Essex Police for her wrongful arrest, and all the tribulation it caused her, as well as her legal costs. I am also assisting her with an application to ACRO Criminal Records Office, in order to have the record of this misbegotten arrest deleted.
Taking Legal Action Against the Police After a Wrongful Arrest
As there seems to be little chance of the Police changing their approach to complaints and claims any time soon, I’m pleased to confirm that I won’t be changing mine, either.
The last word goes to my client, Chloe Cannon, who left this review on Trustpilot:
I was falsely arrested for GBH at my place of work. I was 22 at the time with no previous criminal record and was arrested by 5 police officers. I was held in a cell for 10 hours for a crime I had no involvement in. I was released on bail, for the next day, to be no further actioned and told that “there was nothing they could do as I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
The person I worked for at the time got me in contact with Iain.
From the start, Iain was a great help explaining to me what I could and couldn’t do as this was something I had no knowledge of. Iain pulled apart their practice from that day to every minute detail. It took 14 months for the case to be solved and it was worth every day. Due to Iain’s unwillingness to back down in my defence, I was awarded £15000 for something that still affects me to this day.
I will forever be thankful for Iain.
Anyone who needs support and someone in their corner, should definitely get in contact with Iain.
Thank you Iain ☺️
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With over 30 years of experience and a national reputation, he has successfully sued all 43 police forces in England and Wales challenging abuse of power and securing rightful compensation.
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