London: Police officers abused Arab teenagers

London: Police officers abused Arab teenagers



Two Metropolitan police constables dragged the boys into a police van one-by-one and subjected them to a series of obscenities and racist taunts, it is claimed.


One officer allegedly accused a boy from Kuwait of robbing people “while British soldiers are getting killed in Iraq”.



Another boy was slapped and threatened “If you say one more thing I will ------- kill you”, the court heard.



Rosa Dean, prosecuting, said the officers then attempted a cover up when they realised they were about to get reported and made notes together which were “deliberately economical with the truth.”



A whistleblower, Pc Amechi Onwugbonu, gave evidence against his colleagues at Kingston Crown Court.



He said he was driving six officers from the Met’s Territorial Support Group in a marked van when the alleged incident happened in Paddington, west London, in June 2007.



Miss Dean said one officer called for Pc Onwugbonu to pull over because a group of young men had been allegedly mouthing obscenities at the van.



He stopped in Sussex Gardens where between seven to 10 young males were gathered.



Pc Mark Jones, 42, picked first on Omar Mohidin, who was 16 at the time, jurors were told.



Pc Onwugbonu said: “He started to lay into him verbally. He said something like 'you think we are ------- pussies’.”



The officer added that Pc Jones, who was “nose-to-nose” with the teenager, asked him where he was from to which Mr Mohidin replied “Kuwait”.



“He said something like 'you’re ------- here, robbing people while British soldiers are getting killed in Iraq’,” jurors were told



Pc Jones left the van midway through searching the teenager to deal with a “disturbance” outside involving the other officers, the court heard, and Omar was told it was his “lucky day” and let free.



Ahmed Hegazy, then 17, was then “dragged” into the van and was lying handcuffed on the floor of the vehicle when Pc Jones walked over his back, it is claimed.



Pc Onwugbonu alleged that Pc Neil Brown, 33, then took off his protective gear and called on Mr Hegazy for a fight, before saying “I’m white you ------- Arab and this is my country.”



Another teenager, 16-year-old Basil Khan, was brought into the van after being singled out by a third police officer, Sgt William Wilson, the court heard



The whistleblower said: “[He] appeared very angry. He swore at him and said 'you ------- ----. If you say one more thing I will ------- kill you,’ and then he slapped him on the face.”



Pc Onwugbonu said he spoke to Sgt Wilson after the incident and let him know he did not approve of what happened, asking what the teens did to deserve such treatment.



Sgt Wilson allegedly replied: “They are robbers, we know how they treat their victims, they deserved it.”



Recalling a conversation with Pc Jones, Pc Onwugbonu said: “The last thing he said to me was 'these guys need to be treated like this because we are vigilantes. By that point I’d had enough and just walked away.”



(more)


Source: Telegraph, h/t London Muslim

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