Met Police agrees payout to injured scholar hit on head by baton at protest
T
he Metropolitan Police has apologised and agreed to pay a settlement to a person who suffered a mind harm after being struck on the pinnacle by a police baton throughout protests 13 years in the past.
Alfie Meadows, then a 20-year-old philosophy scholar, was injured on December 9 2010 throughout a protest in opposition to tuition charges hikes.
He was charged with violent dysfunction and confronted three trials earlier than being unanimously acquitted in March 2022 at London’s Woolwich Crown Court.
In a press release on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said that “unjustified” drive had been used in opposition to Mr Meadows, who was “protesting peacefully”.
The drive mentioned it had apologised to him in June and settled a civil motion following a declare he made in August 2020, however the officer who struck Mr Meadows has not been recognized and “held to account for their actions”.
It is believed the settlement, which has not been disclosed, could run to 6 figures.
Mr Meadows informed Channel 4 News: “It felt like a process that was never going to end. It felt like I was on trial the whole time, that I was being punished for the crime of surviving this police assault.
“I’ve just been so aware of how I’ve been treated and how the police have been failed to be held to account.”
He added: “I don’t think it will make up for the pain I suffered at the time and the serious impact it has had on my life and my mental health over the last decade.
“All of the years I’ve lost fighting for truth and accountability and coming up against denial, blame and attempts to criminalise me.”
On Friday, a police spokesman mentioned Mr Meadows suffered “very serious injuries” in the course of the 2010 demonstration.
He added: “Although the situation in Parliament Square was chaotic and threatening, we acknowledge that Mr Meadows was protesting peacefully and the use of force against him was unjustified.
“Between 2010 and 2019, a number of investigations and proceedings took place including criminal proceedings, independent investigations by the then-IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission), and a misconduct hearing. None were able to identify the officer in question.
“We sincerely regret, despite extensive CCTV and witness inquiries, the officer who struck Mr Meadows did not come forward, could not be identified and has not been held to account for their actions.
“We have apologised to Mr Meadows for this.”
He added that since 2010 the drive has launched body-worn cameras and improved self-defence coaching for officers in an effort to assist stop such an incident ever occurring once more.