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A man with Aspergers Syndrome who was wrongfully handcuffed and detained by police has won an out-of-court settlement.
James Henderson, 39, was awarded an undisclosed sum after police watchdogs found officers should not have handcuffed him, he had been wrongfully detained, and the force had deleted bodycam footage it should have retained.
Police were responding to a call from a woman who reported James was walking behind her in Westbourne Road, Marsh, ‘shouting about random things’.
Lawyers for Mr Henderson said the woman told police she had felt threatened, but was more concerned with his welfare and did not want to report any offence during the incident on April 30, 2017.
Mr Henderson was then ‘almost immediately handcuffed’ and taken home in the back of a police van, his lawyers said. A female officer claimed she ‘felt threatened’ by his ‘aggressive’ behaviour.
An internal police investigation sided with the officers and defended their decision to delete video footage.
Mr Henderson challenged this – and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), found officers should not have handcuffed him. It also concluded they had wrongfully detained him by taking him home in the van against his will, and should have retained video footage for review.
Read more at: https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/man-aspergers-wins-payout-police-15838063
