A police constable stationed in Croydon, Perry Lathwood, acted in a ‘disrespectful and unprofessional’ manner when he called a black mum ‘a daft cow’ as he arrested her on Whitehorse Road in 2023
A police disciplinary panel today found that Perry Lathwood, the Croydon police officer at the centre of the controversial bus stop arrest of a black mum on Whitehorse Road in July 2023, did commit misconduct.
In the dock: Perry Lathwood
Lathwood, 51, faced possible dismissal from the police over allegations that he breached standards of professional behaviour regarding the force he used – including applying handcuffs, how he dealt with the woman and the language and tone used, and that he acted in a sexist way towards her.
Lathwood denied gross misconduct.
The disciplinary panel determined that PC Lathwood breached the standard relating to authority, respect and courtesy, for calling the woman a “daft cow” during the incident.
He was cleared of further allegations that he breached standards relating to equality and diversity, use of force and discreditable conduct.
The finding follows an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into the incident.
During the hearing, the three-person disciplinary panel saw from the constable’s own bodycam footage what happened at that flashpoint two years ago, when he gripped the arm of black mum Jocelyn Agyemang and refused to let go, despite her asking him to release her 36 times.
Agyemang needed treatment for bruising on her arm in A&E later that day.
Lathwood and another police officer had been assisting Transport for London ticket inspectors in south London on the day. Agyemang was only “de-arrested” once it was confirmed that she had paid her bus fare.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court 10 months after the incident, Lathwood was convicted of common assault and fined £1,5000 in respect of his arrest of Jocelyn Agyemang, but he had that conviction quashed on appeal four months later.
At the time of Lathwood’s successful court appeal, Rick Prior, the chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, London officers’ staff association, issued a statement describing Lathwood’s prosecution as a “politically motivated witch-hunt against a decent, honest and diligent police officer who was simply doing his job”.
According to Prior, “there was certainly no criminality”, and “PC Perry Lathwood walks away from the court today with his reputation restored and without a blemish on his character.”
One year later, and with Lathwood’s record now carrying a written warning as he approaches his final months on the force before retiring, Prior’s view of his colleague’s conduct appears to be less defensible.
Despite the criminal conviction, Lathwood was allowed to continue to work for the police in Croydon, albeit on “restricted duties”.
In evidence to the tribunal this week, it emerged that Agyemang has a degree in a police-related subject, and had wanted to join the police force.
At the disciplinary tribunal held in The City, Agyemang gave her testimony from behind a screen. At times, she broke down in tears.
Video of the incident taken by a passer-by went viral on social media in the summer of 2023. But on Monday, the tribunal was able to watch the full footage taken from PC Lathwood’s own bodycam.
The bodycam video is an unsettling watch, as Agyemang is heard repeatedly asking to be let go, and Lathwood ignores her (Note: the sound on the video is muted for the first 18sec).
All this time, the woman’s young son is just feet away, and becoming increasingly distressed.
In the earlier court case, Agyemang had said the incident was “deeply humiliating and embarrassing” and that PC Lathwood had a “look of contempt in his eyes”.
At this week’s hearing, when asked if she had any anti-police sentiment, Agyemang said: “I am not against the police at all, I actually have a degree in policing and wanted to be a police officer.”
Lathwood’s employers, the Met Police, were represented at the hearing by barrister Cecily White, who explained that on the day of the incident, Agyemang had an appointment to attend and needed to drop her child off at her mother’s house before it.
When asked for a ticket check, “she indicated she did not want to stop, asking them to ‘walk with me, walk with me’,” White told the tribunal.
“She had in fact already paid her fare,” White said.
She explained that Lathwood’s use of language was “dismissive and condescending”, particularly towards women.
Lathwood took hold of her arm and continued to use force against her by holding onto her arm and wrist, the hearing was told, before handcuffing her.
In the bodycam footage, Agyemang says, “Can you get off my arm?”, “I haven’t done anything”, and “Get off me”, before she begins shouting: “Can you get off me? This man is hurting me.”
She also said: “You are actually hurting my arm, can you get off me please?
“I actually feel sick.”
In the footage, Lathwood is heard to shout, “Stop resisting”, and later, “There’s a road behind you, you daft cow. Stay here.”
When told she was under arrest, Agyemang is heard to ask: “What for?”
After about four minutes being held by force, the mother finally loses her patience: “What the fuck is going on? I need to take my son.”
At one point, she fell to the floor.
Only once the police, or a TfL ticket inspector, checked Agyemang’s Oyster card did they confirm that she had paid her fare, and she was “de-arrested”.
That night, Agyemang called police and said she had been restrained by an officer who had hurt her arm such that it was “feeling dead” and still hurting. She reportedly said she did not understand why she had been dealt in that way and had been crying on the phone.
White told the hearing that it was “obviously disproportionate and unnecessary to apply that use of force and to handcuff her”.
The Met’s lawyer said: “What that did was massively inflame the situation.
“Whilst it is accepted that Miss A is confrontational to the officer, in the main that is in response to his laying hands on her, and not the other way round.”
Today, following the panel’s ruling, IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “Police officers must treat members of the public with respect and courtesy during the course of their duties.
“This was a distressing incident for the woman, who was handcuffed in public in front of her child and the language used by PC Lathwood was disrespectful and unprofessional.
“This was a high-profile incident which caused significant public concern at the time, particularly in the Croydon community, and we know this interaction continues to have a lasting impact on the woman involved.”
Read more: Lathwood is ‘threat to the public’ says his Sussex neighbour
Read more: Community groups demand dismissal of convicted Met officer
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Thankyou Jocelyn for testifying. There are a few people who have been on the receiving end of Lathwood’s attention, my wife being one of them. He is not the Met’s finest.
Well unfair justice for officers. He should have got no
Warning or any kind of punishment.
He was carrying out his duties. He not did nothing wrong
at all.
Are you a parody or a pillock?
What are you talking about. I am a bus drivers in
London. We drivers have to put up with people’s
Who abuse by walking past without touch of they
Oyster OK. That’s why I am backing officers as he
Was only trying to do his duties.
Jocelyn Ageymang had paid for her journey.
It’s a shame that she didn’t just calmly choose to say she paid, the copper is a twat but she chose to be very argumentative and difficult in the situation which escalated things. That’s all people need to do, it’s obviously not pleasant being falsely accused of something, but it happens sometimes in life.
But that’s what she did. And she asked to be released from his grip. 36 times.
So who was the argumentative one?
You’re unfair and rude to poor Prakash – he has to deal with all kinds of awkward customers and is simply telling us how it looks from the driver’s seat. Have some empathy.
Patronising bollocks. Instead of siding with a closet racist, have a bit of empathy for the victim in this case, Jocelyn Agyemang, and the other people on the receiving end of Lathwood’s aggression
❤️ Thank you so much for your kindness support. You really understood what London bus drivers have put up with and well underpaid in public transportation.