A police officer who wrongly arrested a woman for bus fare evasion and allegedly used force against her has denied gross misconduct.
Pc Perry Lathwood was fined £1,500 for assault after wrongly arresting the woman who had been travelling on a bus in Croydon, south London with her young son, but had his conviction quashed last September.
The Metropolitan police officer is now facing misconduct proceedings over the allegation that he used force against the woman, whom he held by her arm and handcuffed, and that there was no lawful basis for the use of force, which could amount to gross misconduct.
Scotland Yard said the alleged breach of professional behaviour is so serious that if it is proved, the officer could be sacked.
It is also alleged that Mr Lathwood used inappropriate language when he arrested mother Jocelyn Agyemang in July 2023, calling her “love” and a “daft cow”, the tribunal heard on Monday.
Cecily White, a barrister representing the Metropolitan Police, told the hearing in central London the alleged language is “dismissive and condescending”, particularly towards women.
Opening the case, Ms White said Ms Agyemang had been stopped getting off a bus in Whitehorse Road, Croydon, where Transport for London (TfL) revenue protection inspectors (RPI) were being assisted by police as part of a ticket checking operation.
She disembarked the 147 bus on the morning July 21 2023, where there were eight TfL revenue protection inspectors, two police community support officers (PCSOs) and three police officers, including Mr Lathwood, waiting to check tickets.
Ms White said Ms Agyemang was with her son at the time, had an appointment to get to and needed to drop her child off at her mother’s house before it.
An RPI and a PCSO asked to check Ms Agyemang’s ticket, and Ms Agyemang indicated “she did not want to stop, asking them to ‘walk with me, walk with me’”, the tribunal heard.
“She (Ms Agyemang) had in fact already paid her fare,” Ms White said.
It is alleged Mr Lathwood then walked towards Ms Agyemang, took hold of her arm and continued to use force against her by holding onto her arm and wrist, the hearing was told, before handcuffing her.
In Mr Lathwood’s bodyworn footage, shown to the hearing, Ms Agyemang is heard saying “can you get off my arm”, “I haven’t done anything” and “get off me”, before she begins shouting: “Can you get off me? This man is hurting me.”
She also says: “You are actually hurting my arm, can you get off my please? I actually feel sick,” while her son appears to become increasingly distressed.
In the footage, Mr Lathwood appears to shout at her to “stop resisting” and shortly afterwards says “there’s a road behind you you daft cow, stay here”.
Other staff at the scene are heard to tell Ms Agyemang to calm down, as she said: “What the f*** is going on? I need to take my son,” and asked: “What for?” when she was told she was under arrest.
At one point she fell to the floor.
The commotion continues for at least four minutes as other staff speak to Ms Agyemang and passers-by ask what is happening, and one RPI says: “Can we try and scan her card please?”
Another officer took her Oyster card and went away with it to see if she had paid, and Ms Agyemang was de-arrested at the scene after it was confirmed she had paid her fare.
That evening Ms Agyemang called police and said she had been restrained by an officer who had hurt her arm such that it was “feeling dead” and still hurting.
She reportedly said she did not understand why she had been dealt in that way and had been crying on the phone.
A video of the incident shared on social media went viral, the tribunal heard.
Ms White told the hearing Mr Lathwood is “obviously angry and frustrated” in the footage, and said it was “obviously disproportionate and unnecessary to apply that use of force and to handcuff her”.
“What that did was massively inflame the situation,” she told the hearing.
“Whilst it is accepted that Miss A(gyemang) is confrontational to the officer, in the main that is in response to his laying hands on her, and not the other way round.”
Ms Agyemang went to A&E after the incident and was given anti-inflammatories for bruising to her arm, and said she still had bruising on her arm by the evening of July 23, two days later, the hearing was told.
She gave evidence from behind a screen on Monday and became tearful when asked about the incident.
The woman claimed she had wanted to get her Oyster card scanned by the RPI, which is why she asked staff to walk with her.
Asked if she went to the incident with any anti-police sentiment, Ms Agyemang said: “I am not against the police at all, I actually have a degree in policing and wanted to be a police officer.”
The tribunal continues.
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