Unlawful imprisonment

[Spodho]

I was arrested at the end of july 2008 for alleged drunk and disorderly,while being arrested i was pepper sprayed and assaulted,I was not resisting arrest.I complained to the police and eventually the IPCC who took statements from witnesses and my self,a week ago i recieved a letter from the CPS informing me that they were starting proceedings against the PC involved for assault & unlawful imprisonment.My question is what is the difference between false imprisonment & unlawful?

[Mrs Y]

I believe that false imprisonment relates to being held against one's will in a situation other than a police station or holding cell.

Examples of false imprisonment would be being held hostage or being kidnapped and kept in a locked room.

Unlawful imprisonment generally relates to people being held in police detention for longer than necessary, or when there is no evidence that they have committed a crime.

Hope that helps; good luck with the case x

[silverlace]

Well done for standing up to them. Onthe whole I think our police do a good job, but they have to know that they are not above the law themselves. Good luck.

[gypsynoir]

My Sister, her Husband and myself were involved in something very simular to your case some years back...
The whole case was thrown out of court. It even made the headlines in the local newspaper 'Three found not guilty in fish and chips case' the officer in question tried to say we attacked him and tried to sue for his uniform being soiled with fish and chips! my Sister's Husband was treat with extreme force and unfairly locked up for the night. We did nothing cept try and stop the officers arresting my Brother-in-law for nothing!

You stand your ground on this matter and don't let the fascist element of the force to get away with this!

[Clunge1]

Its rare to hear of Police Officers being charged to court mate. You must have some pretty strong evidence against them. I went through a similar situation last year, i too was assaulted and arrested for something i hadnt done but when i got to court the defence barrister tore me and my witnesses apart and it got dramatically chucked out of court. The problem was me and my mates had exagerated a bit in our statements, and when the case got thrown out we all ended up getting arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice.... It wasn't a pleasant experience and i ended up getting some community hours and had to pay all the costs. If it wasnt for my solicitor i would have gone to prison.

Anyway my sister is a top solicitor in London. If i can give you any tips mate you need to ensure your statement is absolutely watertight and ENSURE that you DONT admit being drunk cos if you do your case could end up getting thrown out like mine did.

Anyhow good luck with it and let us know how you get on.