Farleys were instructed on behalf of Mr D and O in connection with a claim for false imprisonment following their arrest and detention for a period of 8 hours.
Following their detention, Mr D and O were bailed and thereafter released without charge.
They were arrested at Mr D’s place of work by Surrey police and then taken to Staines police station. At the time of arrest the claimants were working for a garage which was carrying out a warranty repair on a replacement clutch of a police vehicle. The arrest was made for aggravated taking of a police vehicle without the owner’s consent. It had been alleged that the claimants had taken the vehicle, used the emergency lights in public, drove in excess of the permitted speed limit and ran a red light.
Further investigations were carried out whilst the Mr and O were on bail. CCTV footage was obtained from the roundabout and the vehicle systems were checked. The blue lights had not been engaged and “out of service” was clearly displayed. Further to this the vehicle was travelling at a max of 73mph in a 70mph zone. As a result the Claimants were later released without charge.
How Farleys Specialist Solicitors Helped
Farleys’ claims against public authorities specialist solicitors were immediately able to help Mr D and O bring a claim since the officers present at the arrest failed to adequately investigate the allegation before arresting them. Simple verification of whether the car was speeding and using blue lights, as was later carried out using video footage and JDR data, would have prevented this arrest.
Mr D was unnecessarily arrested and detained and additional lines of enquiry should have been conducted prior to arrest. At the time of arrest the officer’s belief that the claimants had committed an offence was based on inaccurate information and wrongful interpretation of the offence.
Both Mr D and O were held in custody for an unreasonably long period given the fact that investigation into the allegation and obtaining of vehicle data could have been carried out much sooner to verify the sequence of events. Liability was admitted by the Police following receipt of a letter of claim to the Chief Constable. Farleys achieved a settlement in the sum of £2,500 for both Mr D and O in addition to the successful recovery of their legal costs.
To speak with a Farleys Solicitor that specialises in claims against the public authorities please email us or call us now on 0845 050 1958.