30 officers, a fleet of vehicles, dogs and a helicopter, all to arrest members of a Brixton rock group on the basis of false information.
A MISTAKE BY a CCTV operator in Staffordshire has led to the arrest, at gunpoint, of four members of South London rock group, The Thirst. The incident happened after a gig in Staffordshire when police were told they had a handgun in their car.
The musicians, their manager and a friend were detained overnight, had their fingerprints and DNA taken, surrendered their clothes for scientific examination and had their hands swabbed for firearms residue.
On closer examination, however, the security camera footage showed the band unloading their instruments and equipment and using jump leads to start one of their vehicles. The police suddenly swooped on them in the car park, as the band began loading their equipment into two vehicles after a gig.
“There were guns, lights, dogs, a helicopter and people shouting ‘down on the bloody ground’,” said Kwame Cofi-Agyeman, the bass player. “It was like something out of a film.
“I felt very nervous because I could see that the guys holding the guns were shaking. I had a gun pressed against my neck. This guy had my life in his hands and his hands were shaking.”
“You hear of innocent people being shot, like Menezes or the guy with the chair leg [Harry Stanley]. I didn’t want to be another statistic, another police blunder.”
The other band members — Mr Cofi-Agyeman’s brother, Mensah, Mark Lenihan and Marcus Harris, their manager Kingsley Slater and friend Johnny Morton-Clark were also held at gunpoint.
All six were taken to a police station where swabs were taken and they were locked in cells.
An hour later — after police had searched the band’s vehicles and re-examined the CCTV — the men were released.
“There was no apology or explanation. They gave us a jump-start and said we should consider it a goodwill gesture.”
Mr Cofi-Agyeman said that during 15 hours in detention he was offered just a glass of water while the only white member of the party, Mr Morton-Clark, was given a meal.
He added: “I’m not trying to play the race card, but I couldn’t help thinking race had something to do with it.”
Mr Morton-Clark, 24, agreed: “They put all the black guys in a van and they put me in a car — I do think they treated me differently from the others.”
A senior officer has now apologised “unreservedly” to the six men and is reviewing the circumstances leading to their arrest. A Special Delivery letter was sent to each of the men by Assistant Chief Constable Jane Sawyers, which states: “We clearly got this wrong and I totally accept the sighting of a handgun was a mistake.”
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