A mother and father have said they were arrested in front of their young daughter and held in a cell for 11 hours after making “disparaging” comments about her school.
Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine Hertfordshire Constabulary officers turned up at their home after the school objected to criticisms.
The couple were questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property before the force dropped the charges following a five-week probe.
Herts police has defended its actions over responding to allegations of “harassment and malicious communications”.
A complaint was put forward to the Professional Standards Department but their action was deemed appropriate.
Mr Allen and Ms Levine, who also have a younger daughter called Francesca, had already been banned from Cowley Hill Primary School, in Borehamwood.
They said this came after making comments in a WhatsApp group that staff felt amounted to “casting aspersions” on the chair of governors.
“It was completely Kafkaesque...”
Mr Allen, 50, a producer for Times Radio, said he and his partner had been blocked from attending the parents’ evening for their nine-year-old daughter Sascha and also prohibited from attending her Christmas play. The youngster suffers with epilepsy and is neurodivergent and registered disabled.
He said: “It was absolutely nightmarish. I couldn’t believe this was happening, that a public authority could use the police to close down a legitimate inquiry.
“We’d never used abusive or threatening language, even in private, and always followed due process. Yet we have never even been told what these communications were that were supposedly criminal, which is completely Kafkaesque.”
The couple said they had not been on the school's premises since July, the allegations were never explained, and that the police failed to explain how their actions justified such a response.
Ms Levine, 46, said: “I saw six police officers standing there. There were two cars and a police van. My first thought was that Sascha was dead. I could not think of any other reason why six police officers would be at my door.
“My heart was thumping, thinking something terrible had happened. So when I was placed under arrest, in a weird way I was briefly relieved. And then I started to think, ‘what on earth? What the hell is going on?’ Francesca was cowering in the corner, she was terrified.”
They said they were held in Stevenage Police Station for 11 hours.
WhatsApp messages shows they had accused others of being spies and control freaks
An officer issued a warning to the family in December, and told them to take Sascha out of school, which they did the next month, a week before the arrests, The Times said.
Mr Allen said: “We’d never used abusive or threatening language, even in private, and always followed due process.
“Yet we have never even been told what these communications were that were supposedly criminal, which is completely Kafkaesque.”
He added: “I believe the school tried to use the police to close down legitimate inquiries, and for some reason the constabulary played along.”
A spokesperson for Cowley Hill Primary School told The Times: “We sought advice from the police following a high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts from two parents, as this was becoming upsetting for staff, parents and governors.
“We’re always happy for parents to raise concerns, but we do ask that they do this in a suitable way, and in line with the school’s published complaints procedure.”
Hertfordshire Constabulary told the Standard: “Following reports of harassment and malicious communications, which are criminal offences, a man and a woman from Borehamwood, both aged in their 40s, were arrested on Wednesday 29 January.
“The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations as is routine in these types of matters. Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken due to insufficient evidence. In relation to the police visit on 20 December, a complaint was submitted which was reviewed by our Professional Standards Department. It was deemed that the service provided by officers was appropriate.”
