The Metropolitan Police has courted further controversy when Scotland Yard issued a statement describing as “a huge setback” the conviction for assault of one of its constables over last summer’s controversial arrest of a black woman bus passenger on Whitehorse Road in Croydon.
Guilty: Met constable Perry Lathwood was found guilty of assault. He may yet appeal
PC Perry Lathwood was today found guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court of assault during the wrongful arrest of Jocelyn Agyemang last July, in scenes which were videoed and widely shared on social media, while the woman’s young son, clearly in some distress, watched on.
The court heard that PC Lathwood “manhandled” Agyemang and called her a “daft cow”. PC Lathwood will be sentenced at the same court on June 14.
The incident occurred during a fare evasion operation conducted jointly with Transport for London. Similar operations, and ticket inspections, were suspended entirely by TfL on buses in Croydon for almost a month afterwards. The Met has not taken part in any such operations since.
“This verdict is a huge setback to our ability to rebuild trust with Londoners,” according to Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist.
“We will learn the lessons from this and we apologise to the woman and the wider community who were deeply affected.
“Anyone who has seen the footage of this incident will be upset by how it escalated into a traumatic situation for a mother and her child.
“Despite today’s conviction, we will continue to support the officer and continue to support our workforce, to ensure officers have the confidence to act decisively and make arrests when they believe they have the powers to do so.”
PC Lathwood, from Sussex, was attached to the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command. The prosecution was brought following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, after the Met had referred itself to the independent arbiter.
Controversial: the Met’s Twitter statement – based on a longer comment from AC Matt Twist – is unlikely to win many friends
AC Twist said: “When an officer is convicted of a criminal offence, their conviction will often be considered at an accelerated misconduct hearing as soon as possible after proceedings have finished.
“In this case we will wait to hear if PC Lathwood will appeal the conviction, and work to fully understand the decision of the court and its implications for policing. We do not intend to consider an accelerated misconduct hearing in this case.”
And the Assistant Commissioner added: “The nature of this kind of fare evasion operation unnecessarily places officers in potentially challenging interactions with the public.
“Since this incident happened, we have stopped our involvement in supporting Transport for London fare evasion operations, but we continue our presence on the bus network tackling violent crime.”
During the one-day court hearing held last week, Agyemang told the court she felt “very violated” after being handcuffed and was left with pain in her wrist, arm and a bruised shoulder.
Passing judgment, Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram said it was “not necessary to grab the woman’s arm, arrest her and handcuff her”.
The judge said: “There were not reasonable grounds to suggest arrest was necessary. The officer made an error of judgment and overreacted.”
During the trial, Paul Jarvis, prosecuting, said Agyemang was dropping her son off at her mother’s house on July 21 last year before heading to an appointment in Marylebone scheduled for 12.30pm.
After she and her son disembarked the bus at around 11am, she was asked to show she had paid her fare by a bus inspector. “She does not hand it over and she walks off,” Jarvis told the court. “It is at this moment that PC Lathwood becomes involved.”
Most of what happened was captured on the officers’ body cams and by the bus’s CCTV, as well as being videoed by passers-by.
Set-back: Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist
The prosecuting lawyer said PC Lathwood put a hand on her, but she moved away, so he then grabbed her arm and arrested her for fare evasion.
In footage played to the court, Agyemang could be heard asking the officer: “Can you get off me, please? Can you get off my arm? You don’t understand, I have done nothing wrong.”
Jarvis said PC Lathwood continued to hold her, demanding she tap her Oyster card. He also handcuffed her. Another officer took her Oyster card from her hand and went away with it to see if she had paid.
She was “de-arrested” at the scene after it was confirmed that Agyemang had paid her fare.
“I just remember the strong grip,” Agyemang said in evidence. “When someone is holding me, especially when I feel like I have done nothing wrong, it is very scary for me.”
When asked why she walked off, Agyemang said: “At the time I was just thinking about getting to my mother’s house.”
She was asked why she “resisted” the police when stopped. “I honestly don’t see it as resisting,” she told the court.
The IOPC’s Mel Palmer said, “Any use of force by officers should be reasonable, proportionate and justifiable in the circumstances.
“This was a high-profile incident that caused significant concern, particularly in the Croydon community, after footage of the incident was published online.”
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
