Police force apologizes after clip goes viral.
A police officer who was caught on camera saying he would “make something up” in order to arrest a man during the coronavirus lockdown has been suspended from the force.
The clip showed officers confronting a group of men in Accrington who were using a quad bike outdoors in an apparent violation of the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures.
Although the lockdown is supposed to be enforced by fines and not arrests, one of the young men complains about being arrested, telling the officer, “You’re arresting me? What for? I’ve done nothing wrong.”
The officer responds: “I’ll lock you up…. We’ll make something up… who are they going to believe, me or you?”
The police officer who made the threat has now been suspended after the clip went viral on social media.
“We absolutely recognise the impact this footage has had on public confidence,” said Lancashire Police in a statement. “It has been referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.”
The Chief Constable said the officer’s behavior was “completely unacceptable” and apologized “without reservation” to the man involved.
As we have previously highlighted, there have been innumerable examples of police officers abusing their lockdown powers or simply not understanding the law, including a female officer who told a family their children couldn’t play on their own front garden.
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