Street preacher wins £15k after wrongful arrest for ‘hate crime’
from The Christian Institute:
A street preacher in Scotland has won substantial damages from the police after he was wrongfully arrested over a ‘hate-crime’ incident.
Angus Cameron, who was Pastor of Cumnock Baptist Church, received £5,500 for his unlawful detention by Police Scotland, as well as £9,400 in legal costs.
Mr Cameron has donated all of his compensation to The Christian Institute, which supported him throughout his ordeal.
Handcuffed
The Institute’s Deputy Director for Public Affairs Simon Calvert explained that Mr Cameron had been preaching in Glasgow city centre when he was approached by a police officer who said she had been told ‘homophobic language’ had been used, which Angus strenuously denied.
“The PC announced that he was under arrest for ‘breach of the peace with homophobic aggravation’. He was handcuffed – despite being entirely peaceful and compliant.
[…] Mr Calvert said: “The police papers revealed clear errors in the handling and recording of this incident.
“Despite the police knowing full well that the complaint against him did not amount to a criminal offence, this respected community leader was informed his good name was to be associated with ‘hatred’ and potential criminality in police records.
“We were pleased to be able to help Angus bring a legal action and we believe it was because of the strength of his legal claim that the police were forced to reach an out-of-court legal settlement and pay damages and legal costs.
“In addition, we were able to get all reference to this unsubstantiated ‘non-crime’ deleted from Police Scotland’s records.”
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
