My First Ever Police Encounter

Not too long ago the Black Lives matter movement was in full circle and I’ve been reading a few articles around the subject matter relating to how some people of colour have experienced racism, micro aggression and various discrimination practises sometimes in public, schools or at work. A lot of which I can relate to.

Recently I had an incident with the police which happened which I would not say I am not entirely blameless. But there was a level of reaction by certain members of the public who became involved on my behalf to the extent of recording the incident and sending it me, and to date making a formal complaint about the matter.

You see I have a certain reaction regarding the police whether I’m being stopped or even walking by a police officer, and all of this stems from my first ever encounter with the metropolitan police which I am going to lay out here.

I once read somewhere one event can trigger a set of other events that could just spiral on and on one fateful day something happened that gave me an opinion of every police officer I’ve come across since.

During that period leading up to my first encounter with the police I was going through a difficult period of my life. I had graduated University but couldn’t get my career going. Coupled with that I had lost my odd job working as a security guard. A few before I had broken my leg, and as a result was fired as you needed two legs to do security patrols, stating the obvious. The day in question was also the 10-year anniversary of my father’s death. I lost my father at the age of 13 and he was one the few who encouraged me in my career, so I lost a pivotal person in my life. To be honest my teenage years was a real challenge after he died.

Anyway I digress

That fateful day I was mad angry, why I was angry with myself for breaking my leg. My broken leg though healing was not healing fast enough so I couldn’t find any work, my career was on the ropes, Also I recently had an argument with a family friend, why because we disagreed over what I used to call dead end jobs. The argument left me homeless he attacked when I had a plaster cast on. And for the first time had to take up sheltered accommodation. It was a day I really missed my father.

It was in the early evening and I wanted to let off steam, plus I had to exercise my frustrating leg; as recommended by my physiotherapist, So I went for a walk. Fearing my mending leg may start hurting as it did during a long walk. I stayed close to where I live walking about 100 metres then back and I’d repeat this a few times.

Anyway as I’m walking along three plain clothes police officers out of nowhere suddenly stop me one was Asian of Indian descent, the other two are white.

The Asian police officer shows me his warrant card and says to me they want to search me. And their excuse was, they saw me talking to some white tourists and believe I wanted to peddle drugs to them. Now this was in the Bayswater area which is a popular tourist destination. But I sure was not talking to anyone that evening, I was just not in the mood.

Looking back on it now I would probably acted differently allow myself to succumb to the profiling of a black man. However, that day the last thing I needed, was three police officers stopping me alleging I was a drug peddler. So I told them to bugger off and leave me alone. And a few more words of that sort.

But what happened next I will never forget and summarizes my view to this day of the metropolitan police forever. Suddenly the police officers grabbed me, handcuff me and put me in the back of their squad car. First I am shocked. This can’t be happening; I came out for a walk, from my temporary accommodation. so I give them piece of my mind on the matter.

It gets worse

what happens next is what I have seen movies. The Asian police officer pulls out a small bag of substance possibly weed. And says he found that on my person. Which I said to him. How can you say that since I refused a search in the first place! He says it’s to teach me a lesson.

Next thing I know I am driven down to Paddington police station and locked up.

Then at the police station they wanted me to own up to the drug possession and get off with a caution which I refused. So I was charged to go to court. The justice system is fair right.

I need to mention the fact that the last thing the Asian officer said was something along the lines of look at me I’m Asian and not white, as if to say I should kind of be more yielding, or something stupid or trust who know. Plus, it was ironic considering he was the one who falsely said he found drugs on me after I had been arrested.

At Paddington station, I was searched and afterwards, I had the worst two hours of my life being locked up. You see I had never been in a jail cell before ever and all kind of emotions were going through my head in that jail cell. Just four walls.

What compounded it even more was this sense of injustice.

When an injustice happens sometimes the support of say a community, family would sometimes help. However, the reaction from friends and family at the time was they didn’t want to be involved. No one believed me! I couldn’t get anyone to support me as a character witness. Even my own mother who I didn’t have the best of relations with, didn’t believe me. So who could I turn to?

But here is the mitigating thing about that, you see when I was kid myself my view of the Met police was that of a Bobby on the beat with his Tall helmet probably smiling reliable, incorruptible if anything. After my arrest and charge, it shattered that image forever.

So when you say the police planted drugs on you, who’s going to believe a black man?

So I go to court I can’t afford a solicitor. However, I do my best I wear a suit I make notes Questions I will ask the police officers who arrested me (my key logical idea was that how could you have found drugs on me when I refused a search) I don’t have priors right. The courts must be fair right. I was wrong it was the word of a white uniformed police officer against a black nobody.

So I was convicted of drug possession. Oddly enough it was only one of the white officers of the three who testified against me.

After that my imaginations went crazy. the court’s decision was against me, I now had a criminal conviction I would never be able to get a job, probably wouldn’t be able to travel outside the country. And since allegedly I was a criminal I would have to join some kind of criminal fraternity to find ways to survive

However, I didn’t give up, after all this was life. So I wrote a letter I couldn’t afford a computer at the time so it was hand written. And I travelled to the Police complaints authority. And personally hand delivered my letter to Tintagel House along Albert Embankment.

Based on my letter to the police complaints, more than a week later two officers came to visit me where I stayed at the time in Bayswater. They listened to my complaint and they said they would see what they can do for me.

After that I never heard back from them

I even tried searching for that conviction but couldn’t find it. As I was applying for certain jobs roles one including working for a contractor at an army barracks. May be it’s

When I wrote this I came across this information from this website

https://policecautions.uk/2017/10/16/criminal-record-sealing-and-expungement-in-england-and-wales/

If however you have been to court and have been convicted, you will not be able to “expunge” a record, but will be able to appeal your conviction. If your appeal is successful and your conviction is quashed, then you could apply to have your PNC records expunged.

I am writing this is because my view of the police and the whole UK criminal justice system is of distrust, and lack of respect uniform or not.

And in light of recent events the system is stacked up against the black man. Call it paranoia but my view of a policeman even just walking by one is he wants to destroy any black man lives if they can. Which hasn’t been helped by reading a few articles of miscarriage of justice over the years.