Post by Anton DequePost by Stephen Thomas ColeGareth Alun Evans G4SDW has quite the colourful past history in
uk.radio.amateur. If you fancy a good laugh, have a delve through the
Google Groups archive. It will not surprise you to learn that his
behaviour at one point eventually resulted in a police officer standing
on his head.
IIRC that incident was unrelated to Gareth's behaviour and was in fact a
result of the deranged imagination of your chubby chum.
HTH
Nope, it stemmed directly from his behaviour online.
Here's some clippings from the web:
Radio ham Gareth Evans, G4SDW, was reported to have been arrested in
connection with the harassment of an Internet chat room user.
Now Mr Evans, 54, of Hardens Close, Chippenham SN15 3AA, has made a
complaint to police that he was roughly treated during the arrest.
But police say they are confident they acted within the law when arresting
him.
Mr Evans, who has been bailed pending further police inquiries, was
arrested by six officers at his home on Monday 7th March 2005.
He claims he was pinned to the floor by three police officers, while
another put a boot on the side of his face and forced his head into the
ground.
He said: "They carried me out by the strap of the handcuffs which were
biting against the bone." But Sergeant Matt Armstrong said officers had
made a video recording of the arrest, "We are confident we acted within the
law and if Mr Evans made a complaint then it will be fully investigated by
the Police Professional Standards Department and could be referred to the
Independent Police Complaints Commission.
"He was released on bail pending further inquiries."
Mr Evans was kept in custody overnight at Melksham Police Station and
subsequently made a complaint to Chief Superintendent Amanda Eveley.
///
POLICE sergeant Richard Fullers name has been cleared after he was found
not guilty of using unreasonable force to arrest a man.
Radio ham Gareth Evans, 55, had complained Sgt Fuller, who lives near
Devizes, had unnecessarily used his foot to force his head to the ground
while he was being arrested at his home, in Hardens Close, Chippenham, in
March.
Magistrates in Chippenham found Sgt Fuller, a member of the force's armed
response unit based in Devizes who has an unblemished career record, not
guilty on the second day of his trial on Thursday, February 9.
They said he had not intended to harm Mr Evans, who suffered superficial
facial injuries, and had not used excessive or unreasonable force. He was
alleged to have forced Mr Evans' head to the ground with his foot.
Magistrates in Chippenham heard Mr Evans was arrested at his home in
Hardens Close in connection with the harassment of an Internet chat room
user a case which has since been dropped. The court was shown a video of
the arrest and photographs of Mr Evans' facial injuries taken after the
incident. Mr Evans, 55, spoke of his terror at the arrest, which used what
he described as "agonising force".
Giving evidence, he said: "I was upstairs in my office when I saw a number
of police coming up the road. "I came down to the front door where they
told me they were going to arrest me. "I was in a panic and extremely
frightened by so many people. "I had been at the door for several minutes
when I was suddenly thrown to the floor. It was completely uncalled for.
"A handcuff had been put on to my left wrist with huge force.
Eleven months later and the mark is still visible. I was in a panic that
the same thing was going to happen to my right wrist and I was flailing
around on the floor. "Mr Fuller was swearing at me continuously and I
remember him saying to me I know what to do about this'. A boot was applied
for my face and ground down hard and I gave a cry of distress. "I was lying
on the floor pinned down by a number of officers. There was a feeling of
despair as the handcuff was placed tightly around my other wrist."
Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said the question wasn't whether the incident
happened, but if it amounted to reasonable force. He said: "It was clear
that Sgt Fuller lost his temper and used excessive force. "It was clearly
motivated by anger and that is reflected by the remarks he made at the
time. Mr Evans posed no risk of immediate violence.
"The state entrusts police officers with the right and power to use force
when necessary and must be guarded against using it in excess." Mr Evans
was examined by a forensic pathologist who found the injury on his face
consistent with contact of the boot of the type worn by Sgt Fuller.
Nick Fridd, defending, said by last June Mr Evans had made 59 complaints to
the Independent Police Complaints Commission about Wiltshire Constabulary.
He said Mr Evans aired his views of the police force on the Internet,
calling them the "we'll s***e all over you constabulary". He also said
former police officer Roy Clarke, who was stabbed to death in his Melksham
home in December 2004, "deserved what he got".
When asked by Mr Fridd if he shouted and screamed during the arrest to draw
the attention of his neighbours, Mr Evans replied: "No. I was in absolute
agony. I've never known such pain."
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If the above message is full of spelling mistakes or the snipping is duff,
it's probably because it was sent from my iPhone, likely whilst walking.
Apologies!