A Met Police officer who “manhandled” and wrongly arrested a woman for bus fare evasion in front of her young son, has been found guilty of assault.
PC Perry Lathwood, 50, of Norman’s Bay, East Sussex, assaulted Jocelyn Agyemang and caused bruising injuries to her arm during the arrest on July 21 last year in Whitehorse Road, Croydon, south London. He was convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday after a trial.
Footage of the arrest was widely circulated online, showing the woman repeatedly asking the officer to let go, and insisting that she had not done anything wrong.
Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram said on Friday it was “not necessary to grab the woman’s arm, arrest her and handcuff her.
“There were not reasonable grounds to suggest arrest was necessary,” he continued. “The officer made an error of judgment and overreacted.”
While he had initially been investigated by the IOPC for racially aggravated assault, this was not pursued and he was instead charged with assault by beating.
The trial had previously heard police officers were helping ticket inspectors on a bus in Croydon at the time.
Paul Jarvis, prosecuting, said Ms Agyemang was dropping her son off at her mother’s house before heading to an appointment in Marylebone scheduled for 12.30pm.
After she and her son disembarked the bus at around 11am, she was asked to show she had paid her fare by a bus inspector.
“She does not hand it over and she walks off,” Mr Jarvis told the court. “It is at this moment that Pc Lathwood becomes involved.”
He said Lathwood put a hand on her, but she moved away, so he then grabbed her arm and arrested her for fare evasion.
A crowd gathered, with people filming the officer and asking him why he had arrested her.
Footage posted online shows the woman shouting “What the hell?” and “What the f*** is going on?” while handcuffed, as two male officers hold her arms.
She repeatedly asks one of the officers to let go and says “I haven’t done anything wrong”, while a member of the public films what is happening and asks why she is being arrested.
Mr Jarvis said Lathwood continued to hold her, demanding she tap her card. He also handcuffed her.
Another officer took her Oyster card from her hand and went away with it to see if she had paid.
It was confirmed that Ms Agyemang had paid her fare and she was de-arrested at the scene. In her evidence to the court, Ms Agyemang gave evidence to the court and said she felt “very violated” by the incident.
“I just felt like they did not care,” she said. “I just felt a bit degraded because I had not done anything wrong.”
She added that the experience was “very scary” and said “I just remember the strong grip.”
“With things I have experienced in my past, when someone is holding me, especially when I feel like I have done nothing wrong, it is very scary for me.”
PC Lathwood also gave evidence and told the court he had “no idea” what else he could have done other than arrest her.
He said he arrested her to stop her from leaving the scene.
“Because of her actions and her refusal to show that card to other people who had continuously asked her to do so,” he said.
He was asked why he did not tell her why she was being arrested.
“If the card had come back as not paid we would have progressed and explained everything to her if she had allowed us,” he said.
The incident sparked an anti-racism protest outside of the local police station days later. Benjamin Clement, 53, who filmed the woman’s arrest was at the demonstration and told The Independent: “I saw just another Black person being abused by the police.”
“I just couldn’t believe the way they were handling the woman. They were trying to get her onto the floor at one point – she was so distressed and it just seemed like no one cared. Everyone was just standing around watching. So, I felt like I had to start filming.”
Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) regional director Mel Palmer said: “Any use of force by officers should be reasonable, proportionate and justifiable in the circumstances.
“This was a high-profile incident that caused significant concern, particularly in the Croydon community, after footage of the incident was published online.
“We carried out an independent and impartial investigation to establish the facts surrounding this incident, including the actions of the police officers involved.
“The decision to refer a file of evidence to the CPS to consider criminal charges is not something we take lightly and this was done after careful consideration of the evidence, including liaison with the CPS.”
The police watchdog said it will now liaise with the force to progress disciplinary proceedings for the officer.
Lathwood will be sentenced at the same court on 14 June.
