A police officer is underneath legal investigation for potential assault after an actor claimed he was unlawfully arrested earlier this 12 months.
Intercourse Training star Reece Richards stated he was unlawfully arrested in September after being mistaken for a suspect he claimed he “didn’t fit the description” of.
He claimed he was sprayed with an incapacitating liquid by police, was thrown to the bottom and kicked by officers.
The actor, who performs Eugene within the hit Netflix collection, stated the incident passed off “just yards from my front door” in Fulham, west London, after he had completed performing in a manufacturing of Hairspray The Musical.
The Unbiased Workplace For Police Conduct (IOPC) stated on Wednesday that one of many officers concerned within the arrest is being investigated for the potential offence of widespread assault.
The identical officer is being investigated for potential gross misconduct and a second officer is being investigated for potential misconduct.
‘Get to the ground or I am going to pepper spray you’
Richards stated earlier than he was arrested, he was attempting to level officers within the course of two males he had seen working from a automobile.
He stated the officer then shouted to him that he was underneath arrest and “demanded” he get to the bottom.
The actor stated: “I was confused, unable to understand why I was suddenly being treated like a criminal.
“Calmly, I defined that I used to be a performer coming back from a present, however one officer yelled, ‘get to the ground or I am going to pepper spray you’.
“Moments later, three more officers ran at me. They pepper sprayed me, kicked my legs out from under me, threw me to the ground and handcuffed me.
“In a flash, I used to be face-down on the pavement with a number of officers holding me down, forcing my head into the bottom.
“I was already injured from the show, but having four officers on top of me worsened my injuries to my back, ribs and stomach.”
The IOPC stated the investigation “does not mean that disciplinary or criminal proceedings will necessarily follow”.
“At the end of our investigation, we will decide whether any officers should face disciplinary proceedings and whether any referral should be made to the Crown Prosecution Service,” it stated.
