At the time of the raid, police released a statement claiming "community information" had linked the address to drug activity.
Inspector Stuart Ross said at the time: "These recent warrants are really good examples of proactive police work following calls from the public.
"I would therefore urge people to help us make a difference in bringing offenders to justice, by reporting anyone involved in crime in the town."So you can kick their door in, kill their dog, and then drop all (spurious) investigation without an apology?
Mrs Blanchard, who suffers from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, was in the bathroom and her husband was in bed when the police burst in at 7.10am on September 9, last year.
Mr Blanchard, who lives with his wife at Eastgate Flats in Goole, insisted: "We have never, ever, ever touched drugs.
"But we had a drugs bust. At 7.10am, about seven or eight officers came storming in and put our door through.
"They came through before I had even got out of bed.
"My wife wasn't feeling well because of her illness, so was in the toilet, but they went in and grabbed her and tried to grab me out of bed, even though I had no trousers on.
"I didn't know what was happening and we were both in complete shock."
Mr Blanchard said the couple were put in separate police vans – even though his wife said sitting in the back would aggravate pain caused by her cancer.
"My wife was very poorly at the time and has been traumatised ever since," he said.
"She has been heartbroken because of what happened to Robbie. He was 13, but the police stood on him.
"Robbie and our other dog were then left all day on their own without food or water. He couldn't do anything after that and we had to pay £300 to put him down two days later.
"The place would have been dark, so they probably wouldn't have seen him, but that's beside the point."
Mr Blanchard said the force had failed to tell him why their house was raided.
"We were relieved when they dropped the charges but we knew it would happen anyway because we have never, ever dealt drugs," he said.
"We knew they would drop the charges, but the amount of time it took to do it is a joke. I understand they had a job to do, but it's the way they treated us that annoyed me.
"You would have thought we were murderers the way they grabbed us and talked to us, but we hadn't done anything wrong. It was disgusting."
…
Mr Blanchard said the couple had their reputations in the area ruined when photos of their flat circulated on social media at the time of the raid. He said he would be writing to Chief Constable Justine Curran to complain about their treatment.A PR disaster that could have been turned into a success by a full and frank apology and immediate compensation. What do the police do?
Well, you won’t be surprised to hear that it’s nothing like that:
A Humberside Police spokesman told the Mail: "A 67-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman were initially arrested on suspicion of being concerned with the supply of controlled drugs following a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at a property on Eastgate, Goole on September 9, 2015.
"They have now had their police bail cancelled and been unconditionally released.
"Police have not received any complaints in connection with the investigation."Translation: “Stonewall! Pretend we are just automatons reacting to stimuli like single-celled organisms! Hope it all goes away!”
The contrast between this police indifference to the treatment meted out to an innocent couple and the grovelling obsequiousness displayed when a member of an identity group complains is stark.
You are right, my attitude has gone from respect to "fuck da police".
ReplyDeleteThe police have not been on our side for the last few decades. People are only just now waking up to the fact.
ReplyDeleteWhilst I feel the Blanchards made the criminal error of being White and CoE, and I must wonder how the hell the Police got a warrant on such obviously dodgy intel , I must point out that Police raids-especially for drugs- are carried out in such a manner to prevent the little old lady ,what wouldn't say 'boo' to a goose, from flushing the kilo and a half of crystal meth down the crapper while the Peelers knock politely on the front door and wait for Man of the House to wander down in his dressing gown with his trousers on.
ReplyDeleteAlso Coppers on a drug raid would automatically use the 'forceful' restraint option so not to lose yet another colleague to a dirty needle or that shiv that Granny Goody keeps under her pillow or her late husband's service revolver.
The Ober Peelers really need to explain to the Public that the 'tone' used when raiding is 'nothing personal' it is designed to compel peaceful compliance. They [strike]talk to [/strike] SHOUT at you as you were a murderer because 1.you may well be and 2.for everyone's safety they want you cuffed and quiet ASAP.
"Put down the Night Nurse and step away from the catheter bag NOW!" *bull horn tone* may sound stupid but I personally have throttled a copper with the IV tube that was in my arm when I came round (he survived I hasten to add, somewhat shaken and kept his side arm drawn for the rest of the ambulance ride).
You get my point?
Some plod forces are, to coin a phrase, "Not fit for purpose".
ReplyDeleteIt is odd how police are drifting away from being police and turning into storm troopers all over the west.
ReplyDeleteAs well the justifications are getting more righteous.
Is crime disappearing then ?
This happens so regularly, it hardly raises an eyebrow these days. One locally, Police kick in door of little old lady. She just looks up from her knitting and says "I think you want the flat upstairs dear"..
ReplyDelete@The Blocked Dwarf: we get all that. Once they go in they have to assume the people are in fact criminals and will behave as criminals. So if they f*ck up and raid the wrong house innocent people will get treated badly.
ReplyDeleteBut when this happens why do they then behave like complete c*nts? Why can't they just say sorry, fix everything they broke, compensate for distress caused, send the lady a bunch of flowers and make a public apology in the press? Their behaviour when they are in the wrong belies their true attitude to the public - we don't have to give a flying f*ck about you, just be glad we didn't fit you up anyway.
"Why can't they just say sorry, fix everything they broke, compensate for distress caused, send the lady a bunch of flowers and make a public apology in the press? "
ReplyDeleteThis is why:
"Cambridgeshire Constabulary would like to apologise to Mr Ian NIXON after wrongly arresting him . We should have thought to check with his life Partner to see if he had an alibi before arresting him and blackening his fair name with the unfounded suspicion of him being a Sex Offender. We thank him for his understanding and cooperation throughout his ordeal. We would like to stress Mr Huntley was released from Police Custody without a stain on his character and we hope the bunch of flowers and box of fine Handmade Belgian Dutroux Chocolates will go someway to easing the distress caused by our callous , totally unjustified actions"-July 1999
OK I made that up but you see where I'm going with this...?...oh btw Nixon's other name was 'Huntley', I wonder what happened to him...last I heard he moved to a little village somewhere...'sod-ham' I think it was called.
Yes Julia all law abiding people now despise the police. Have you done a survey or have you spoken to them all?
ReplyDeleteStupid thing to write. What you mean is "here's a cock-up by the police so lets use it to write a stupid headline"
Jaded.
Sorry Jaded, but come on, let's look at this in a unbiased way. Anonymous tip off, 22 South St are dealing drugs. A quick check on on the electoral roll shows that the residents of said address are pensioners, a quick PNC check reveals that they've made several complaints about anti-social behavior, and to be fair, they don't exactly fit the profile, but dot the I's and cross the T's. A couple CPO's knocking on the door giving it "There's been a lot of burglaries in the area.." and a few patrols noting if there's any fuckos knocking on the door, day or night. It isn't fucking rocket science is it?
ReplyDeleteBudvar old chap-not denying the police cocked up on this raid. But Julia has used this one incident to state all law abiding people hate us.I would guess I speak to more members of the public than most (the quiet hard-working majority) and generally we are very well thought of.I'm ready to be shot down in flames on here by everyone that's ever got a speeding ticket or not had their burglary solved though...
ReplyDeleteJaded
@The Blocked Dwark: Hang on, there's a difference the size of the Grand Canyon between being arrested and questioned for something, and having the gestapo smash your door in late at night, treat you like a criminal (when you aren't) and then just drop you like a piece of sh*t when they discover they're f*cked up royally.
ReplyDeleteArresting people and questioning them are what the police do. And because its 100% sure that some of those arrested will be innocent of the crimes being investigated, the police are supposed to treat all people they arrest with dignity and respect (even if they didn't deserve it). Whereas when you bash someone's door down in this manner (as you rightly point out) they have to assume guilt, even though they cannot know that guilt. So there is a big difference - the system is based on innocent until proven guilty, but raids like this assume guilt.
Thus when they f*ck up, they should be apologising for that misplaced assumption of guilt and making good their damage.
And regarding Julia's point about how people regard the police today, I'm about as law abiding, middle aged, middle class person you could get, and I wouldn't believe a word a policeman said to me. I regard them all as liars and bully boys, because I've seen and heard too much of the way they behave these days, behaving like some sort of quasi-military occupying force.
@jaded But Julia has used this one incident to state all law abiding people hate us
ReplyDeleteActually I don't think she did, more a 'generally lawabiding people' tone is how i read it. Of course not ALL lawabiders despise the Police...although, going on personal experience I have to say there does seem to be a growing swell of mistrust, people who 5 years ago would have stood behind the police to a white middle classed man will now not.
Yes I would say we are more disliked in general than we used to be,in no small part to blogs like this and papers like the Daily Mail constantly reporting the odd cock-up instead of the vast majority of the good work we do.Done quietly and without fuss.
ReplyDeleteLots of people have agendas against the police and they generally make the most noise.
A small anecdote-I was wrestling with a violent shoplifter a few years ago in my busy High Street.The only way to subdue this man was to punch him as hard as I could in the face. A crowd was watching (but not helping!) and the criminal shouted out "look what he's done! Police brutality!" .A little old lady stepped out from the crowd and leant over the man and said "you f*****n deserved it". Even I laughed under stress and the crowd dispersed.
Jaded.
XX "The place would have been dark, so they probably wouldn't have seen him, but that's beside the point."XX
ReplyDeleteNo arsehole, that is TOTALY the point!
" I would say we are more disliked in general than we used to be,in no small part to blogs like this and papers like the Daily Mail constantly reporting the odd cock-up instead of the vast majority of the good work we do"
ReplyDeleteIn other words its all the fault of the media for shining a light on just how many wrong 'uns (and frankly bad management policies too) there are in the police these days. If only we could go back to the good old days where we fitted everyone up for things they may or may not have done, people 'fell down stairs' at the station, and the Chief Constable would have a little word with the editor of the local rag at the next Lodge meeting to keep it all brushed neatly under the carpet. Happy days!!!
" People are only just now waking up to the fact."
ReplyDeleteAnd stories like this one only serve to help the decline. If he'd called the police about the yobs, would they have turned up?
".. I must point out that Police raids-especially for drugs- are carried out in such a manner to prevent the little old lady ,what wouldn't say 'boo' to a goose, from flushing the kilo and a half of crystal meth down the crapper.."
No argument with their tactics. Just with their lack of apology when it's obvious they aren't dealing with 'the usual suspects'.
"As well the justifications are getting more righteous.
Is crime disappearing then ?"
Or is it being redefined?
"But when this happens why do they then behave like complete c*nts? Why can't they just say sorry, fix everything they broke, compensate for distress caused, send the lady a bunch of flowers and make a public apology in the press?"
Yup! THIS!
"Yes Julia all law abiding people now despise the police. Have you done a survey or have you spoken to them all?"
Do I need to? Haven't you heard of sampling?
" It isn't fucking rocket science is it?"
ReplyDeleteIt isn't. But it might as well be.
"And because its 100% sure that some of those arrested will be innocent of the crimes being investigated, the police are supposed to treat all people they arrest with dignity and respect..."
Can anyone imagine a member of an identity group getting treated like this? They are handled with kid gloves.
"...I would say we are more disliked in general than we used to be,in no small part to blogs like this and papers like the Daily Mail constantly reporting the odd cock-up..."
Bullshit, Jaded! It's NOT just 'the odd cockup' and blogs aren't unknown (like this one, if you were honest) that praise the police when legislation or political correctness puts them in impossible situations.
And - just like the coverup - it's the reaction to the cockup that gets you, not the cockup itself.
"No arsehole, that is TOTALY the point!"
No, he's right. It was an accident. The police response to it (had it been anything other than callous indifference) could have made all the difference here.