I fought the law and I won: Clash roadie wins damages over racist beating by 19 British cops in 23-hour ordeal

He would have got millions in the USA

Don Lorenzo has been awarded damages for the physical and racial abuse he suffered at the hands of police. A former roadie for The Clash who was called a ‘f****** n***er’ as he was viciously assaulted by a group of policemen has won more than a year’s wages in damages.

The judge said he made the award to Don Lorenzo, a Rastafarian, to show ‘the courts and society’s disapproval of the racial slurs’.
Mr Lorenzo , 58, suffered cuts and bruises to his entire body in a 23-hour ordeal that happened outside his home and even in a police station after he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.

The incident in 2007, in which up to 19 officers were involved, left him with carpel tunnel syndrome in his wrists which ended his career as an African drummer.

Now in his case against West Midlands police a jury found in his favour following a six-day trial at Birmingham County Court.
The judge, Recorder Adrian Jack, awarded the former freelance drummer - a roadie for rock legends The Clash, who sang the hit I Fought The Law And The Law Won - damages totalling £17,000 - including £5,000 in aggravated damage.

He also awarded Mr Lorenzo 100 per cent of his costs estimated in the region of £50,000 against the Chief Constable of the West Midlands.

Mr Jack also pointed out that Mr Lorenzo’s ‘extreme distress’ was ‘excacerbated by the racial abuse received on arrest’.

After the award his solicitor Nick Turner said: ‘I’ve dealt with some cases of assault by police in my time, but this is tinged with terrible racism and leaves an awful taste in the mouth.
‘An innocent father was dealt with in a deplorable way and that was partly to do with the colour of his skin. ‘The case against the police was black and white and the jury rightly found in Mr Lorenzo’s favour.’

On November 20, 2007, Mr Lorenzo’s teenage daughter called the police falsely alleging he’d hit her when he arrived home in Edgbaston, Birmingham, accompanied by the caretaker for his block of flats. His daughter Kaya, now 20, had no marks on her and Don thought the police would tell her off for wasting their time.

But instead began a 23-hour ordeal with him being racially abused and assaulted numerous times by police officers, the court was told.

He was punched in the mouth several times, kicked and dragged down five flights of stairs from his fifth storey home and then when taken to Bournville Lane Police Station - where he was assaulted again, the court heard.

After his victory in court Don said: ‘All along I realised what was going on and that my action was against all the odds. ‘I am a realist and I knew that there was just me saying that 19 police officers were wrong.

‘I was acquitted in the criminal courts and this case was no different. The police officers have been shown to be racist. ‘They were shown to have called me a f***ing n***er when I was on the floor outside my home.

‘They continually racially abused me as they dragged me down the stairs. But justice has now been done with the jury finding in my favour and the judge awarding substantial damages.’

Mr Turner added: ‘The costs for bringing this claim are expected to be in the region of £50,000 on each side - that’s a bill of £100,000 for the British taxpayer.

‘There should be no place in society for racists, to find them in the police force is absolutely sickening. ‘Whilst the Metropolitan Police appear to be learning the lessons of the Macpherson Report they are clearly very hard of hearing in the West Midlands. ‘This was a very highly violent, racist assault by officers of the West Midlands force on a UK citizen with Afro-Caribbean heritage and it was compounded by his false imprisonment for more than 23 hours.

‘It is astonishing that the police have never once apologised for their actions - particularly with the damages being fixed so close to the conviction of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence when abhorrent racism is so prominent on our agenda as a society.’

West Midlands Police requested leave to appeal. The force could not be reached for comment.

Original report here




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