A woman who claims she was forcefully arrested by South Wales Police officers has received £40,000 compensation from the force and a written apology.
The woman says the police barged into her house at 2.30am and pinned her to a wall, causing long-term injuries, reports WalesOnline.
In the early hours of the morning on September 12, 2020, Louise Badman claims three uniformed officers arrived at her ground floor apartment in Pyle, south Wales, and began knocking on the window. Mother-of-one Louise claimed she woke up and went to the front door, where she opened a window beside the door, and began speaking to one of the officers.
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She says she asked the officers why they were there, to which one replied that they were going to arrest her following allegations she’d harassed a man she’d never met in person but had interacted with on social media - a case that was later dropped due to insufficient evidence and which Louise maintained was a “malicious false allegation”.
Louise, 49, claimed she then asked the officers if they had a warrant to enter her property. When the officers said they hadn’t got a warrant, she said she asked them to return at a reasonable time in the morning when she said she would speak to them.
She claimed an officer then put their hand through the window, turned a key in the lock in the door and “barged” into the property. “They grabbed me aggressively, pinned me to the wall and put my hands behind my back in an abnormal position while they handcuffed me,” Louise claimed of what she called a “traumatic” experience.
“Because of the location of my compressed herniated discs in my spine and the force used by the officers I was in a serious amount of pain and distress while they had my arms behind my back," she claimed. "I was screaming at them pleading with them to stop because they were hurting me but they kept telling me to calm down and do as I was told, or words to that effect.
“I had no criminal record, no previous markers, and they had no reason to believe I was a threat. Yet they barged into my house in the early hours of the morning, I believe to catch me out, like I was some sort of serial killer.
"I absolutely understand why at times police forces would want to act like that at such a time in the day, especially when the person they’re looking to arrest is dangerous or a potentially serious criminal.
"I am not dangerous in any way, I am not a criminal and I’m definitely not a threat to anyone. I am five feet tall and I am disabled.
"What they did to me on that day was disproportionate and totally unnecessary following a malicious and false accusation that was made against me by a man I’d been critical of on social media.”
During the arrest Louise claimed her pyjama trousers fell down twice - once outside in the street as police were putting her into the back of a van.
"I had no footwear on and was not allowed to change out of my pyjamas before I was manhandled out of my flat and into the police van aggressively," said Louise. "They shouted at me to get into the van.
"I couldn’t get into the van without using my arms because of my disabilities. In that process my trousers fell down for a second time while we were outside. I felt extremely vulnerable, and I then began to suffer shock and I was very anxious. I also remember being freezing cold."
“I was taken to Bridgend Police Station where I asked for a cup for a drink of water, for a blanket, a mattress, a gown or a coat, but I was denied all of those things,” Louise claimed. “I was in the station for 18 hours and could not change out of my pyjamas all day until I was released.
"The only time I was given a blanket was during my interview. I had to drink water by cupping my hands. It was an inhumane experience. I also asked for my medication for my back, my anxiety and for my asthma, but those requests were also ignored.
"I feel that my basic human rights were breached throughout.”
Almost three years after the incident, South Wales Police has now written to Louise's solicitor following lengthy conversations between both parties, making an apology and offering an out-of-court settlement which Louise said she reluctantly accepted on the advice of her solicitor.
"I did not have the emotional strength or capacity to take part in another very distressing court process, I was in fear and purgatory following the attack," she said.
The apology, signed off by Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Bacon, reads: “I am the Deputy Chief Constable and I have been involved in considering your claim against the police. I am sorry for the actions of our officers at your home on September 12, 2020, when you were arrested and handcuffed and I appreciate the distress caused to you.
"I have been informed that these events were traumatic for you and have damaged your confidence in the police and your health. I hope that this apology and the settlement of civil proceedings will rebuild your confidence in the police and start the healing process.”
Despite receiving £40,000 from the force, Louise said that, while she hoped the injuries caused to her back and shoulder would improve, the mental scars of the experience were still as crippling as they were three years ago. “I would give every penny back to turn my life back and change everything so that awful day never happened to me. I have had awful thoughts since that day and the trauma, anxiety and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder I have held with me all my life since I was abused as a child has worsened as a result of this episode.
“I hope that from my case South Wales Police and other forces can become more trauma informed, and can have thorough training to understand how to treat extremely vulnerable people they are dealing with. I still feel a very deep sense of injustice about what happened to me that I can’t shake off. Three officers were not punished for what they did to me. How can it be right that forces act like this and then feel they can sort it out with money?
“It might be over for the police, but for me it isn’t over. How am I expected to move on?
"I feel like I was attacked needlessly and treated extremely disrespectfully by people who are paid to protect the public. If I attacked a police officer I would be in a prison cell now," she claimed.
“Not to blow my own trumpet, but I believe I’m relatively intelligent and articulate. If they can do this to me, it begs the question of what has happened to others.”
Responding to what Louise told WalesOnline, DCC Bacon added: “I have apologised for the actions of officers when Ms Badman was arrested and handcuffed and for the distress this caused. I am aware that these events were traumatic and have damaged her confidence in the police as well as her health.
"I hope the apology and settlement of the civil proceedings will rebuild her confidence in the police and start the healing process.”
