In November 2019, my client, Stephen Santos, a self-employed musician had just returned to the UK after working abroad in Spain. No sooner had the plane landed and taxied down the runway at Stansted, 4-5 Officers of Essex Police board the plane and arrested him under a warrant issued by Bromley Magistrates Court.
The warrant was not for Stephen; he was an entirely innocent man. The warrant directed the Police to arrest an individual known as Emmanuel Salvini, yet the Essex Officers arrested Stephen on the basis of information on the PNC indicating that Salvini had in the past used the name of “Stephen Santos” as an alias.
Despite Stephen’s entirely legitimate protests, Stephen was handcuffed and removed from the airport in the presence of his girlfriend and work colleagues as well as other travellers, a humiliating experience. He was taken into custody and detained for over 40 hours before being produced before Bromley Magistrates, where the Court staff quickly realised that he was not Emmanuel Salvini and released him.
Stephen brought a claim against Essex Police for false imprisonment and assault who following institution of Court proceedings agreed to pay him over £16,000 in compensation together with his legal fees.
Names Have Been Changed
You must be logged in to post a comment.