EXCLUSIVE: Skins actor Daniel Kaluuya sues Met over mistaken arrest on bus claiming they picked on him because of his race

 
Claim: Daniel Kaluuya was strip-searched, according to a High Court writ
10 October 2013

An award-winning actor is suing the Metropolitan Police for assault and false imprisonment after he was wrongly suspected of being a drug dealer.

Solicitors acting for Daniel Kaluuya, 24, who appeared in TV teen drama Skins and movie Johnny English Reborn, have lodged a High Court claim for up to £50,000 in damages.

He was taken off a bus in Camden Town, pinned to the ground by four officers — one placing a boot on his head — and strip-searched at Kentish Town police station.

Papers submitted to the court allege Kaluuya “was singled out because of officers racially stereotyping him”.

He also accuses the Met of using false reports from officers to mount a “malicious” prosecution that accused him of obstructing a police officer.

Kaluuya — who won an Evening Standard theatre award as outstanding newcomer in 2010 — later walked free from court after the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence.

The legal papers reveal how he was returning home to Camden on January 11, 2010 when he was taken off a No 29 bus soon after boarding at about 8.45pm. Officers told him he fitted the description of someone acting suspiciously in the area, the claim states. Mr Kaluuya asked whether he had been singled out because he was black.

The papers claim a male and a female officer were “aggressive from the outset” and “intimidating”. The pair backed Kaluuya against a shop window before pinning him to the floor and restraining him, helped by up to five colleagues after they radioed for help. He had his hands and legs cuffed and his trousers pulled down.

Kaluuya was kneed in the back, neck and head, kicked in the legs and stomach and had his head and shoulder stamped on, it is claimed. When he refused to reveal his name, more force was applied via the boot on his head.

He was ordered to walk to the police van but fell over twice because his trousers were round his knees. Kaluuya said officers failed to read him his rights and refused to inform his mother that he had been taken to the police station. It was the first time he had been held in custody. He spent four hours in a cell and was subjected to a strip-search, during which nothing was found. His fingerprints, DNA and photograph were taken.

Now he is suing Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, on behalf of the force, for “loss of liberty, personal injury, damage and humiliation”.

The writ says he went to his GP several days after the incident and was told he had internal bruising to his ribs, chest and back. It denies police claims that he became aggressive when they tried to arrest him.

At the time he was held, Kaluuya, who lives with his mother, had already appeared in Skins and played minor roles in Dr Who and Lewis. He subsequently played Agent Tucker, the sidekick to Rowan Atkinson’s character Johnny English, and appears in new movie Kick Ass 2.

He won the Standard theatre award for his role as a boxer in the Royal Court play Sucker Punch, and also starred in A Season In The Congo at the Young Vic. He said the police ordeal was a detriment to his career because he missed auditions.

In the past he has tweeted about police mistreatment, without specifically referring to his experience, especially during the 2011 summer riots.

His solicitor Jocelyn Cockburn, of Hodge Jones & Allen, said: “Daniel will not be making any comment at this time because of the ongoing case.”

A Met spokeswoman said: “We can confirm we have received a claim and legal proceedings are progressing.”

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