TWO innocent women were strip-searched after being arrested by armed police officers and locked up for 24 hours – one of a series of incidents in a 90-minute period one summer’s night in Edinburgh.
They were among six people detained during the night of July 22 last year, which also included a man woken at gunpoint and arrested in his pyjamas. None of the six was charged.
Police Scotland has now apologised to them and others forced out of their cars by armed officers, described by the police watchdog as “entirely unwarranted”.
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An emergency call alleging that five black men were outside a man’s Edinburgh flat with guns, tasers and knives, was the trigger for armed officers being deployed in what Police Scotland described as a “difficult and fast-moving situation”.
Chief Superintendent Matt Richards, head of specialist services, said that while the officers involved had been “acting in good faith”, the situation was “not handled well”.
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc), Kate Frame, recommended the force apologise to those involved and “provide them with a clear rationale for these apologies”.
She said: “While these were fast-moving events which related to a number of significant issues, it resulted in four armed response vehicles and nine firearms officers being deployed on seven occasions and police pointing their guns at 11 people on three separate occasions over a period of less than an hour and a half.
“A number of these people were detained and searched on the strength principally of allegations made by an unidentifiable male and this action in a number of instances appears to have been entirely unwarranted.”
The pyjama-clad man was the first to be detained at gunpoint, before police searched his flat and car. Frame’s report found the “balance of probabilities” indicated that officers pointed their weapons at him and other residents in the stairwell of the building.
There appeared to be “no legitimate basis for Police Scotland to suspect that the man had any involvement”, it said.
Armed response vehicles later blocked two cars – an Audi and Peugeot – also suspected of being involved.
Those in the cars “describe the officers pointing machine guns at them whilst shouting to them to get out their vehicles with their hands up”, the report said. One of the two women in the Peugeot “describes how she saw the gun’s red dot on her chest”.
The five occupants were all taken from the cars at gunpoint and detained.
Pirc said: “Despite there being no evidence to connect the two women to any offence, they were kept in police custody for almost 24 hours, during which time they were strip-searched. They were later released without charge.”
Charges of threatening and abusive behaviour were made against the three men but the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) ordered their release from custody and no criminal proceedings had been brought against them.
The Pirc report said the area control room (ACR) inspector involved in the incidents appeared to have “committed to a course of action without seeking additional information or intelligence to revise, review or amend his decisions”.
Richards said: “The officers involved in responding to this incident were all acting in good faith in what was a difficult and fast-moving situation. However, it is clear that on this occasion it was not handled well.
“A thorough review took place following the incident and a number of measures were put in place to address the issues that have now been identified by the Pirc.
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“We are also writing to the individuals involved to apologise and I want to do that again publicly now.”
John Finnie, justice spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, added: “Police officers have the right to defend themselves and the public; however, their response must always be proportionate and possession of a lethal weapon alters the dynamic.
“Sadly, despite the highest standards of conduct, increased carrying of firearms by officers will inevitably lead to more complaints about their inappropriate use.”
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