British student who handed £1 to a homeless man only to be handcuffed by an arrogant cop wins £5,000 payout

He recorded the cop threatening to lie but the cop still skated

A student handcuffed for giving a homeless man a £1 coin has won £5,000 compensation from police for being unlawfully detained.

George Wilson, 20, was held by police who thought the men were swapping drugs – and later denied being drunk before an officer told him: ‘That’s not how I’ll write it up’.

Mr Wilson, of Wallasey, Merseyside, was handcuffed after a night out in Liverpool city centre but managed to make a voice recording of the incident on his phone.

The student at Liverpool John Moores University had claimed the police officer threatened to falsify a statement saying he was drunk and disorderly and also unlawfully detained him.

Mr Wilson had just left a nightclub at about 2am on January 11 last year, when he spotted a homeless man and gave him £1 - but watching police thought he was exchanging drugs.

He was stopped by a police officer and detained under the Misuse of Drugs Act while another officer approached the homeless man.

Mr Wilson said he was ‘a student of the law’, to which the officer replied: ‘Look, buddy, if I lock you up for being drunk and disorderly, because that's what you are being, you won't be a student of the law any more. I'll take that off you. So shut your mouth and stop being stupid.’

Mr Wilson replied: ‘I haven't committed disorder. I've been polite. I've been respectful.’

Mr Wilson said the police officer then said: ‘That's not how I'll write it up, pal.’

The officer denied threatening to falsify a statement. A Merseyside Police investigation concluded the words could be interpreted differently and the officer was advised not to use them again.

It was upheld that once the homeless man had been searched and no drugs were found, Mr Wilson should have been released and as such he was detained for longer than necessary.

Mr Wilson, who now works for Bentley Motors, said: ‘I felt let down by the police. It was a relief to settle the claim, although it wasn't all upheld so I still feel in a way proper justice wasn't found.’

Lawyer Adam Quick, of James Murray Solicitors, who was representing Mr Wilson, said: ‘It is important that the public are made aware that they do not have to accept such treatment by police officers.’

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: ‘The force sought legal advice before a settlement amount was negotiated before this case went to trial.

‘The officer involved in this incident was spoken to about the matter at a misconduct meeting earlier in the year and was provided with advice and training.

‘Merseyside Police remains absolutely committed to the highest integrity and the professional standards of its officers at all times.’

Original report here

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