Witness 'brought to tears' as mum cuffed by cops over 'not paying bus fare'
An eyewitness has spoken out over the treatment of a mother wrongly arrested on suspicion of dodging bus fare while her distressed son looked on.
Clement Benjamin, 53, who filmed the incident in Croydon, London on Friday (July 21) says he was “brought to tears” as he watched the child scream while a Metropolitan Police officer “wrestled” with his mum near a bus stop.
The video, which has gone viral on social media, was then followed by a statement from the Met police claiming that the woman was “abusive” and refused to show her oyster card when challenged.
However, the eyewitness says he did not see this behaviour at any point and claims that she kept asking why she was being arrested while trying to get to her son.
The mother was arrested on suspicion of dodging a bus fare before being released (Clement Benjamin)
Clement said the son was 'screaming' as he watched officers handcuff his mum (Clement Benjamin)Following public outrage, the Met says the matter will be referred to the police watchdog to assess.
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Speaking to the Mirror, plumbing and heating engineer Clement said: “At no point while I was there, did I see her being abusive.
“When they were twisting her arm, she was screaming, that’s not abusive. They were causing her pain.
“She wanted to get to her son as most parents would. The son was just screaming. It was disgusting, it really was.”
Clement went on to add that the woman had her oyster card in her hand the entire time and that the officers could have simply taken it and checked it, which they eventually did and realised she did pay her fare.
He said: “She was asking, what has she done? They were not giving her any answers.
“I then asked, ‘can you tell me what she’s done?’ And the officer who was putting her in the handcuffs told me no. He was very hostile, very aggressive.
“The other police officer next to me explained that she was being arrested for fare evasion and I said ‘really?!’
“They eventually took her card, tapped it and then released her and basically said, ‘you’re free to go.’ There was no apology or anything, she was so distressed she basically took her son and left.”
The Met confirmed the matter will be referred to the police watchdog to assess (Clement Benjamin)
Clement has said that action must be taken and encourages people to film the police in order to get justice (Clement Benjamin)Clement says that action must be taken and that he encourages people to film the police in order to get justice.
He said: “I classed the woman as my sister. Any black woman in distress is my sister. I think something needs to be done. This isn’t an isolated incident. It happens all the time.
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“The main police officer from the get-go had some real attitude problems."
In a statement, Det Ch Supt Christina Jessah said: “We know that this is a distressing video to watch, even more so as a child is seen to be visibly upset by the way in which his mother has been apprehended. We regret the upset that has been caused to the child.
“A PCSO [police community support officer] can be seen comforting the child; however, we know that this does not take away from the impact that this will have on him.
“We are seeking to make contact with the female in question to understand the wider circumstances.”
Father of 4 girls Clement says he would hope someone would do the same for his daughters and intervene (Clement Benjamin)The force said the footage was “a snapshot of a wider incident” adding that officers’ body worn video, which was active for a longer period than the social media clip, had been reviewed.
Despite not initially identifying any “conduct matters” the Met said it had now voluntarily referred itself to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), due to grave public concern.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “We recognise that the use of handcuffs can be a cause of concern, particularly given the context of this incident and the type of offence involved, but when a person is trying to physically leave an incident it is an option officers can consider.
“Ticket inspection operations of this nature are difficult. They place police officers in direct confrontation with frustrated members of the public and could escalate what would otherwise be civil matters to a different level.
“This incident raises questions about the extent to which officers are having to intervene in this way when supporting TfL in their operations.”
He said the force would “now work with TfL to ensure that the balance is right between officers tackling the most serious crime on the transport network and supporting their own operations to ensure revenue protection”.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We have received a complaint referral this afternoon from the Metropolitan Police Service following an incident in Whitehorse Road, Croydon on 21 July where a woman was handcuffed.
"The complaint alleges the woman was racially profiled and verbally abused by an officer.
“We will now assess the referral and decide if any further action is required from us.”
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