Students yet to receive apology from police six weeks after unlawful raid

One of the students in a flat that was unlawfully raided by police has slammed Avon & Somerset Constabulary for their lack of apology more than six weeks after their front door was smashed down in the botched raid.

Billy Stockwell was asleep when police officers in full riot gear entered the flat he shares with friends during a raid on neighbouring squats in the Old City.

All of the squatters who had been living in properties on High Street had left by the time police from at least three different forces arrived, with residents of the flat saying that they were “visibly shaken” by the events of Friday, June 4.

Police admitted on June 12 that they raided the wrong building during the operation to arrest the squatters.

They said that they would apologise after smashing down the door of the student flat at around 6.40am and keeping the residents detained inside, despite not having a warrant.

Stockwell said that he and his flatmates are “hugely disappointed” by the way that Avon & Somerset Constabulary have handled the situation.

He told Bristol24/7: “It has now been six weeks since the police unlawfully raided our student flat and we are yet to receive any form of apology.

“At every step of the process, Avon & Somerset police have seemed to prioritise their public reputation over showing genuine remorse for their actions.

“They recently offered to apologise to us face-to-face, but they wanted this to be filmed by an independent film company. We understandably didn’t feel comfortable with this.

“Two of our doors are still damaged and no one has been in touch with the owner of the property about fixing them as promised.

“However, it is easy to mend two broken doors; it is harder to restore faith in an institution that continues to abuse its powers with impunity.”

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In a statement, Avon & Somerset Constabulary said: “We fully accept that officers had no lawful powers to enter the property and following an immediate review by our Professional Standards Department (PSD), an inspector from the neighbourhood policing team contacted the complainant to arrange a face-to-face meeting, so an apology could be given in person.

“The complainant requested a written apology and went onto ask a number of additional questions relating to the incident and the policing response.

“In order to address the complaint in its entirety, a formal public complaint investigation is being carried out, following which the outcome of this investigation along with a written apology will be sent to the complainant.”

One of the doors broken by police that is yet to be fixed – photo: Billy Stockwell

In relation to the documentary, the police statement added: “Independent filmmaker Story Films is currently following Avon & Somerset Police’s PSD for a forthcoming documentary, to give the public a better understanding of the work they do to ensure officers and staff uphold the values and standards expected of them.

“At times, this filming will involve officers responding to or updating members of the public, but there is no obligation to take part and consent is always sought for filming to take place, and in advance whenever possible.”

Main photo & video: Martin Booth

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