Video that police denied existed shows woman pinned down

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Video that police denied existed shows woman pinned down 2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Jon Ironmonger London and East investigations Nadine Buzzard-Quashie believes the real reason officers detained her was to remove highly sensitive material she was carrying that could damage another police force Body-worn video of a woman's "degrading" arrest, which police falsely told a court did not exist, has been shared exclusively with the . It shows officers in Northamptonshire throw metal spikes in front of Nadine Buzzard-Quashie's car and force her to the ground after responding to a concern for her welfare, whereupon she says her face was pushed into stinging nettles. The Chief Constable of Northamptonshire, Ivan Balhatchet, was found guilty of contempt of court in November and fined £50,000 for failing to release the body-worn videos to her.

Buzzard-Quashie claims that after her arrest, officers removed CCTV she was carrying of her detention by the Metropolitan Police six months earlier, which included highly intrusive footage of her using a custody toilet. Both forces declined to comment due to ongoing damages claims for more than £3m, though in its civil defence, Northamptonshire Police insisted the use of force was lawful. "I don't do well with injustice," says Buzzard-Quashie, 43, from west London, who is the founder of a corporate gifting company.

The Details

This is the first time she has spoken publicly about what she calls her "David and Goliath battle". Laurence Cawley/ Three police cars and a helicopter converged on Buzzard-Quashie Her complex story raises serious questions about the police's handling of people's video data. The Met Police arrest On 13 March 2021, Buzzard-Quashie was arrested at her home in Ealing, west London, on suspicion of sending malicious communications after posting on Instagram some racist messages she had received from former acquaintances.

She was released after spending 17 hours in custody at Hammersmith police station and the case against her was eventually dropped. Buzzard-Quashie promptly lodged a formal request to Scotland Yard to release the CCTV of her detention. When it arrived on 24 August on DVD, she found the Met had, without her knowledge, retained and downloaded unpixelated footage of her using the toilet in her cell.

The has confirmed the existence of this footage, which is described by her lawyers, Bindmans, as "grossly intrusive" and shows "a graphic view of her genitalia". Buzzard-Quashie reported what she had seen to both London's Mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, and the then commissioner of the Met Police, Dame Cressida Dick. Metropolitan Police Buzzard-Quashie, centre, was restrained while detained at Hammersmith Police Station But the discovery, she says, brought her close to having a mental health crisis and, on 2 September 2021, she got into her car and left home.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.