Police lied in statements to justify a black social worker who did not threaten Tasering, the Supreme Court said.
Edwin Afriyie, 36, had his arms crossed and was away from officers after a traffic stop on the Tasered Road by London City Police when he played a video of the body being taken to court. Witness agents said in written statements that Afriyie was “harassing himself to attack officers” and had taken a “fighting stance.”
The social worker is denouncing the force for assault / battery and failure in public office, illegally handcuffing him and Tasered. The London Local Police have denied responsibility, saying the use of force was “necessary and sensible”.
Afriyie’s friends were returning from a party in East London in April 2018 when police canceled her in City. Agents told him they thought he was speeding, but he was never prosecuted for it. He thinks they stopped him because he was a black man driving a Mercedes.
They took a deep breath and were arrested after the machine repeatedly failed to record any results. He was asked to put his hands on his back to put on his handcuffs, but he pulled his arms away, telling him to stop blowing on the device.
Away from the officers and discussing the events with his friend, he was Tasered in the chest. Afriyie fell backwards and hit her head on the ledge of the stone window.
Medical evidence suggests that he was briefly unconscious. He had a head injury and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. He said the incident committed suicide. The London Local Police have argued that he did not lose consciousness.
David Hughes, representing Afriyie in the royal courts in London on Wednesday, said officers had repeatedly lied to justify Tasering in their statements. “No one honestly could describe Mr. Afriyie’s willingness to attack anyone,” he said. “If this tasering were justified, officers would not have to beautify their accounts.”
Police should use Tasers when there is a serious threat of violence. Shortly after his arrest, video evidence showed that an Afriyie officer told him, “The reason you got tasered is not to do as they tell you.”
Judge Jonathan Salmon said Afriyie’s reaction to the arrest was “not the best”, but added: “Your best point is: why was this Taser used?”
Mark Lay-Morgan, a London City police spokesman, said Afriyie was “aggressive” when he pulled his hands away from officers and said, “I don’t mind [being arrested].”
He was handcuffed while on the sidewalk and taken by ambulance to Royal London Hospital. The handcuffs were removed only at the request of medical staff.
Afriye was asked to have a blood test at the hospital, but suggested she have a urine test, saying she had a phobia of needles. Lay-Morgan said that was not the case, pointing to vaccines and acupuncture he had received in the past.
Lay-Morgan argued that Afriyie had deliberately failed to blow hard enough to breathe alcohol tests and did not comply with police. Afriyie refused.
Afriyie told police she had “breathing problems” and the court heard that she had seen a doctor during her adolescence about the problem. But Lay-Morgan responded that a consultant said he was healthy and that there was no evidence when he arrived that this had affected him.
Afriyie was accused of failing to provide a sample for analysis. When the magistrate ordered the prosecution to release images of the camera carried in his body, he dropped the case.
In a witness to the court, Afriyie said after the incident: “I started to feel like I had to give up my life. I was a shell of the person I was before.
“I was always a proud and strong black man. Now I was questioning everything about my appearance and identity. I thought I was a target now because of looks. I don’t think things would have gone the way they did if it hadn’t been for the way I saw it. “
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