Challenging Racial Bias in Policing is Important to make Society Safer...

I feel the Kent Police Officer’s treatment is tantamount to assault given the impact and healing time it will take for me to recover – I WANT JUSTICE!.

My body was in shock as I hid in the confines of an office at Swanley train station after being relentlessly chased by a stranger in a van for around 20 minutes. My mind was racing as only minutes earlier I had been in fear of my life. Whilst in this highly vulnerable, confused, frightened state I endured a further attack of brutalising words from a Kent Police Officer. I felt humiliated and dehumanised. I was dismissed by him as not having the capacity to have natural human feelings- it was surreal. I was distressed as he verbally laid into me.

“Without a single question being asked, the Officer accused me of being a car thief and threatened to arrest me.”

The police officer’s statement ‘She’s not in fear of her life; she tried to steal a car’ captures at its core the very devastating truth. What is the truth as I see it? Well it asserts on the basis of my presumed identity- described as a mix race female in her thirties wearing a pink jumper and black leggings I was a lying car thief on the run.

He persisted to not only elaborate on this narrative, but completely dismiss my humanity. He aggressively asserted that I had not been in fear of my life (implying I am lying), he asserted that the stranger following me in a van for the past 20 or so minutes was justified because ‘I had tried to break into his car’. He went on to say that if he was going to do something like run me over or attack me – he would have. I am fit and well and could have defended myself in any case.

In his eyes I was not a legitimate citizen out jogging or a young woman, frightened- having been through a highly charged, potentially dangerous and life changing incident.

I had on jogging clothes, no phone, bag or keys. It should of been obvious there was no motive to be out on an early Sunday evening trying to steal a van or car from my neighbour.

With this in mind, it should have in a normal situation evoked some question in his mind as to the credibility of the allegation. But it didn’t. Why is this? Why is it that he continued to argue back and forth that I was lying about being in fear of my life- which actually I had been- due in part to a previous brutal attack I encountered age 26 years old.

“His words evoked shock and disbelief.”

I felt a strong sense of humiliation when hearing the station guard’s response ‘oh I didn’t know that’. He had been sympathetic until then and clearly believed me, but now as I stood in front of him and the highly charged police officer- I somehow was reduced in both their eyes to a lying, manipulative thief. It was incredible.

At the same time I had in my mind the injustice of being embroiled in this situation with a false accusation. I had thoughts about my family not knowing where I was and that actually I was stood in a train station office with a police officer spewing very serious accusations, threatening to arrest me, discrediting my truthful explanation that I was a mere jogger going out for daily exercise on a warm Sunday evening.

Finally he asked my name and address- which happened to be about 2 minutes away by car, before saying he needed to go and check whether there was any damage to the car. What the hell! I immediately felt a pang and thought what if the car or van had some pre-existing damage. What would the implications be? How long would this bizarre saga continue? This added insult to injury because I was completely at the mercy of a very odd individual that had made a false allegation to begin with.

“A few simple questions would’ve cleared this up if only he had not barged into the room certain of my guilt.”

The breakthrough occurred when I boldly responded to the officer’s threat that he could arrest me. I asserted ‘you cannot arrest me because I have done nothing wrong’. It was like a light had switched on in his head; he then asked me what I do for a living. I told him I worked for the Ministry of Justice in the Security, Order and Counter terrorism Department. His demeanour changed instantly.

I considered adding I sit on the Violent Crime Prevention board but by this point the situation had shifted towards a resolution. We went in his car to my house where he attempted to explain away his initial behaviour towards me. He said car theft is common in our area and that I should understand given my line of work and also as a resident. I ceased the moment to reiterate that he was unjustified, irrational and unfair in his dismissal of my fear that my life was in danger. He did not respond to this or offer any apology.

“What’s strange to me is that there was no connection or empathy on any level.”

If indeed I was not the car thief that he alleged I was, then I would’ve considered him to have been able to have enough compassion or emotional intelligence to offer some sort of consolation- even if only minimal. But there was nothing.

“I question...was my identity a barrier to being seen as a victim?”

.

This experience has caused my anxiety to soar. If a 41 year old, with a master’s degree, highly educated, professional, school governor, industry expert board member, CEO and founder of a company, published author, homeowner, Ministry of Justice civil servant with enhanced official security clearance can become embroiled in a frivolous case of being deemed a car thief by a Kent police officer- what chances do my two teenage black sons and daughter have if faced with the same situation or any other ordinary person of colour for that matter?

If a police officer is unable to act impartially or objectively upon arriving at a scene with only a partial description of someone’s identity- what are the implication for how the case will be progressed. Moreover if a police officer is unwilling or unable to offer even an ounce of empathy when faced with the glaringly obvious fact that a women out jogging on an early Sunday had been terrorised by a strange man in a van, what hope is there for us to expect to be reasonably protected by the police?

“With a few basic questions the Officer would have quickly established no crime or attempted crime had been committed.”

In spite of the accuser admitting that there was no damage to the car and he didn’t actually see anything himself, the Officer concluded it was a misunderstanding.

“No Officer, it’s not a misunderstanding, I was out jogging before being intimidated by an angry stranger following me in a van”

At the very least I would have expected a professional police officer say to the false accuser standing with us at the foot of my drive ‘Sir I am convinced no crime has taken place. This is your neighbour and I think you owe her an apology; making false reports is wasting police time'. Being dehumanised really hurts.

I will continue to fight for justice in the hope to prevent this from happening to other people of colour!