Fare evasion victim ‘traumatised’ by legal action and Met’s failed apology – South London News

A woman who was wrongfully arrested in front of her child for a tariff evasion incident from Croydon last summer has been left “traumatized” by the court case, her lawyer said.

PC Perry Lathwood, from the Roads Policing Command, was found guilty of assault by beating on Friday.

The verdict followed a one-day trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court last week.

The charge comes in relation to an incident on July 21, 2023, when Jocelyn Agyemang was left with bruises to her wrist, arm and shoulder after she was wrongly arrested by PC Lathwood on suspicion of fare evasion.

Ms Agyemang’s lawyer, Jade Brown of the Police Actions Department at Taylor Rose MW, said the mother was “humiliated” during the incident and “traumatized” by the subsequent legal process.

Talking to South London PressMrs Brown said:Ms Agyemang was forced to relive the events of July 21, 2023, labeled hysterical, accused of inflicting her own injuries and neglecting her young child.

“The incident and subsequent legal proceedings had a profound and traumatic effect on Ms Agyemang and she required medical intervention.”

The IOPC began an investigation following a referral of a complaint by the Met, which was made on behalf of Ms Agyemang in the days after the incident happened on Whitehorse Road. The police watchdog then sent the file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who decided the officer should be charged.

The arrest was captured on PC Lathwood’s body camera footage. The footage shows Ms Agyemang repeatedly asking the officer to get off her and telling him he was hurting her.

Ms Brown said: “Unfortunately, I come across police officers who abuse their power all too often. This is often in the form of illegal arrests and excessive use of force resulting in injuries, sometimes very serious injuries.”

“Baroness Casey’s report found the Met to be institutionally racist, homophobic and sexist and called for a full review.

“While the behavior of PC Lathwood continues, change cannot happen.”

In a statement, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “This verdict is a major setback for our ability to rebuild trust with Londoners. We will learn the lessons from this and apologize to the woman and the community at large who were deeply affected.

“Despite today’s sentencing, we will continue to support the officer and support our workforce to ensure that officers have the confidence to act decisively and make arrests when they believe they have the power to do so.” .

Despite the public apology, Ms Brown said Ms Agyemang had not received a personal apology from PC Lathwood or the force.

She said: “Many can share our client’s disappointment with the Met’s response.

“The Met has said it will not seek an expedited misconduct hearing, although such a step is common after a police officer’s criminal conviction.”

Since the incident, the Met has said it has stopped supporting Transport for London’s fare evasion operations. PC Lathwood will be sentenced on June 14.

Ms Brown said: “Ms Agyemang feels both vindicated and relieved by the verdict. It is not often that police officers are brought to court and convicted. Justice was done.”

Top image: A still taken from PC Lathwood’s body camera footage (Image: IOPC)

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