A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "These are challenging times and our officers are adapting to the new legislation and guidance which has changed many times during the pandemic.
"Government law says that no person may, without reasonable excuse, enter or remain within a relevant place without wearing a face covering.
"We understand that these restrictions are difficult for everyone, but we must all follow the rules to overcome this pandemic."
It helps if you teach your officers what those rules actually are, rather than allowing them to make it up as they go along:
The 28-year-old said he told officers he had asthma and he was medically exempt but claimed one of them demanded his details and threatened to arrest him in a branch of Lidl in Birmingham.
Mr O'Hagan said he insisted he did not "need to disclose his medical history" but claimed he was eventually handcuffed in front of other shoppers and taken outside. "I'd forgotten my phone, my wallet, my inhaler and they kept going: 'You need to prove it, you need to prove it'."
He went on: "I explained - as per the Government website - you don't have to have a card on you and it was just a verbal thing you needed to say."
Mr O'Hagan said his partner returned home to collect his exemption cards and inhaler, but this was not enough to satisfy the police.
He added: "They took me out of handcuffs, de-arrested me and had a look at my records but said that, because my inhaler didn't have my name on it, they would still have to fine me."
We shouldn't be surprised, for one thing, WMP are the most dysfunctional farce in the country, and for another, the real reason for this dogged determination to pin something on the poor sod is because he had the temerity to argue.
Mr O'Hagan appealed the fine and the fixed penalty notice was quashed. He has now complained to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the force watchdog.
Will they take appropriate action? Probably not.
H/T: Suzanne Evans via Twitter
9 comments:
West Midlands - the Farce is strong in this bunch of bastards. A coterie of coppers where corruption is not only rife but defies separation from incompetence.
With off-topic apologies...have you seen the hideous details of the 72-year-old pensioner who was participating either in a lockdown protest or anti-vaccine demonstration outside the Commons, who was unlawfully arrested and bundled into a van by Scumplod?
It's fascinating how plod consistently misuse and conflate "guidance" "rules" and "law" when it suits their (common) purpose in bullying and pretending that they're in the right. Then when they're shown to be badly trained, badly led and simply inept there's always the Nuremburg getout to fall back on.
It’s a pity he didn’t stay in the open air outside the shop whilst his partner did the shopping. Ridiculous to put himself at unnecessary risk of catching an airborne disease in the confines of a supermarket. He hadn’t got his wallet with him so what value did he add to the shopping trip?
Evenin' 'all.
"It’s a pity he didn’t stay in the open air outside the shop..."
That's clearly not the point is it? This post is about plod confrontation and provocation with 'robust administration of the law' - when such can be applied against those offering zero retaliatory threat. Got it?
...risk of catching an airborne disease in the confines of a supermarket.
Remind me again, how many thousands of supermarket cashiers perished before masks were mandated and perspex barriers put up?
Nice to see a plod cock up that did not involve South Yorkshire's finest
This is the third example of WMP doing this in as many days. You might almost detect a pattern...
The law is clear enough - even these cretins should be able to grasp it.
"... the Farce is strong in this bunch of bastards. "
They earned my first specific blogtag, I recall. Other farces are coming up fast, however...
"...have you seen the hideous details of the 72-year-old pensioner..."
Oh yes! And the conspicuous-by-its-efforts policing of an anti-mask demo in London yesterday. No taking a knee there!
"It's fascinating how plod consistently misuse and conflate "guidance" "rules" and "law" when it suits their (common) purpose in bullying and pretending that they're in the right."
You'd think in the age of everyone and his gog possessing a hi-res video camera in their pocket they'd be more circumspect, wouldn't you?
Until to remember there's no consequences.
"It’s a pity he didn’t stay in the open air outside the shop whilst his partner did the shopping."
Why should he? This is a free count...
Oh. Right. I forgot.
"You might almost detect a pattern..."
Indeed!
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