In London today a gay former police inspector told how he was forced out of his job after being unlawfully arrested by two “homophobic” and drunk special constables in 2007.
Richard Hendron, 31, from Richmond has filed papers at the UK’s High Court claiming that he was victimised by his police bosses and managers after the wrongful arrest. He said he was forced to leave London’s Metropolitan Police two years after the incident due to the constant bullying he endured on a a daily basis.
Mr Hendron tells how the two specials were drunk when they grabbed him after he tripped as he left the Britannia public house bar in Kensington London after ‘Christmas drinks’ in December 2007. They shouted “You’re nicked, guv, for drunk and disorderly.” as they pounced on him. A the time, Mr Hendron was an inspector with responsibility for special constables in Kensington and Chelsea.
Special Constables are all volunteers and are often considered to be part time offices due to the limited number of hours they work. Mr Hendron claims these two ’specials’ made “homophobic” and “ageist” remarks during the evening and he says, dragged him to a nearby post office whilst they waited for uniformed officers to arrive and handcuff him.
He was taken to a police station, put in the cells and released the next day, however he claims that he wasn’t given the opportunity to convey his side of the story nor make complaint about the arrest or the special constables.
He was moved within days to an administrative “non-job” at the Metropolitan Police territorial policing offices and later to a role in Tower Hamlets. However, after “constant bullying and harassment from the senior management team”, he alleged, he had no choice other than to leave the force in 2009.
In the High Court papers it states “The claimant was arrested for drunk and disorderly when in fact there was no disorder,” and that the specials “acted unlawfully and maliciously in exercising their power, which was motivated by personal reasons against the claimant.”,
Speaking to London’s evening paper The Standard, Mr Hendron said he was claiming compensation because he was “targeted and let down” by his bosses after the arrest, while no action was taken against the two specials constables. “It was an off-duty officer with two staff, who were both drunk, tripping in the road and they arrest him for being drunk. Are they motivated by something other than protecting public safety?” he told them.
“When I went to Tower Hamlets people didn’t know I had been arrested by two officers who were drunk, they just knew I had been nicked. If you are a regular police officer you spend eight to 10 hours a day at work — the last thing you want to do after work is arrest someone. These specials, because they don’t do much in terms of policing, get carried away and misuse their powers.” He said.
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the case itself or any of the issues it raises of deep routed homophobia existing at all levels of the force.
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