A man who was arrested for abusing a paramedic has won a £1,000 payout after a police officer revealed details of the incident to another person.Wha..?
The 36-year-old from Canvey was arrested for a public order offence after swearing at an ambulance crew attending a road crash more than a year ago./facepalm
But the man was outraged when a friend mentioned a police officer had revealed details of his arrest a month later.
After seeking legal advice he won a settlement from Essex Police after an investigation found the officer’s behaviour was not deliberate, and the disclosure was a genuine mistake.There’s a surprise…
The man, who claims he wasn’t abusive, said: “A police officer should act more professionally and competently when dealing with a person’s confidential information.
“I feel the disclosure was malicious and deliberate because the officer discussed my details with a third party. This has caused me a great deal of embarrassment, inconvenience and distress.”Oh, poor baby! What a pity you didn’t realise that behaving like a complete bellend while the emergency services tend to an injured patient could also lead to that.
At least, in those that are capable of that emotion…
4 comments:
Comes down again to this privacy/injunctions issue. What's fair game and what is not?
If he's done wrong and it's public, then to me, it's fair game.
Weird - if convicted isn't it supposed to be a matter of public record? No doubt your piece is liable to a class action by bellends?
“The man was subsequently issued with a fixed penalty notice for a public order offence."
Have to check but I don't know if this counts as a conviction. Arrest itself is not automatically a matter for the public, although it can be relevant for a CRB check. It seems to be moving in to a legal grey area which may or may not be covered by the HRA. Consequently, unless there is a conviction in the magistrate's court - and there was not here - there may be an issue of confidentiality.
Stand by for some interesting legal challenges around arrests, cautions and releases from prison, and whether or not these can be disclosed.
"If he's done wrong and it's public, then to me, it's fair game."
Me too. I don't like the FPN 'cop out' option. As WoaR points out, it's a legal grey area, brought in to save time and effort, and now producing unexpected results.
Such as allowing scum to dip their hands in the police budget and rifle around for spare change...
"Stand by for some interesting legal challenges around arrests, cautions and releases from prison, and whether or not these can be disclosed."
Ah, the Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again. The only dependable law we still have...
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