A 79-year-old man was arrested for ‘intervening’ in what he thought was a ‘racist gang attack’ on a fifteen-year-old black boy that turned out to be a police operation.
Jonathan Hunt, a former Lib Dem councillor, was arrested “on suspicion of assaulting a police officer” in Champion Hill, East Dulwich, but was released within twenty minutes.
He says he only took photos of the incident in which police wearing “beach-style clothes and baseball caps” apprehended the teenager.
“I could not stand by and watch this black kid being punched up by a man in strange clothes. My conscience would not let me; 25 years ago, it could have been my own sons,” the former Observer and Financial Times journalist said, told the News.
Police, responding to reports of a knife fight at 6.13pm on Saturday, July 23, also handcuffed five teenage boys, searched them, but found nothing.
Jonathan, a former Lib Dem councillor, was released when he explained he hadn’t realised the plain-clothes officers were police.
But when police returned his confiscated phone, he claims most of the photos he’d taken had vanished.
“I saw two males rush into the Close, one a young black teenager in a dark track suit, and the other an older white man in casual beach-style clothing and a yellow baseball cap,” Jonathan told the News.
“He proceeded to tackle the kid to the ground, and rain blows on his body,” he claimed.
“I shouted at them to stop fighting, from about twenty yards, and briefly went indoors to get my phone camera to take pictures. By then both were standing and another similarly-dressed man helped push the kid on to our fence and started searching him somewhat violently. I again
Confused as to why the men were wearing “casual beach gear”, Jonathan said he wasn’t sure if it was “some kind of joke”.
He said it wasn’t until he saw ‘police’ written on the officers’ caps that he realised it could be a police operation.
He added that an officer then handcuffed Jonathan, bundled him to a police van, telling him he’d been arrested “on suspicion of assaulting a police officer” and would be taken to the station.
Jonathan, who endured the ordeal of arrest in front of a crowd of neighbours, said that he was never close enough to the officers to commit the alleged assault.
He said: “At no point had I been closer than about three metres, as I did not wish to get caught up in the fray.
“I felt off-balance because of the cuffs, and they were hurting my wrists. A sizeable gathering of neighbours had appeared while this was happening. including my wife who was treated very rudely.”
Jonathan said he told a second officer, who he described as a “well-spoken good cop”, that he had been a councillor, responsible citizen and respected journalist.
An officer then asked Jonathan if he’d known they were policeman, he claimed, and when he replied ‘no’ they “de-arrested” him.
“My belief was that Good Cop had told him who I was and could cause considerable trouble, and to let me go,” he said.
Jonathan has asked police to provide footage of the incident to prove that he did nothing wrong but, he says, police have told him they have no images of him, even though he claims they were wearing bodycams.
He said: “My concern as one involved in the local community is that in a quiet, low-crime area like ours that these seemingly out-of-control thugs should suddenly arrive and disrupt our lives, especially those of our young black citizens.
“I am now concerned that in an area where we all benefit from racial harmony and little or no trouble, they might now feel provoked enough to cause race-based disruption.”
Jonathan says he has lodged a formal complaint with Borough Commander Supt Colin Wingrove.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called to Champion Hill, SE5 at 6.13pm on July 23 to reports of a group of males fighting with knives.
“Officers attended. A 79-year-old man was initially arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer after he attempted to intervene during the detention of one of the young males. The man was subsequently de-arrested after he explained that he did not realise the officer, who was in plainclothes, was a police officer.”
The police did not comment on claims that the photos disappeared from Jonathan’s phone.