Police force that Tasered its own race relations officer again confuse victim for same wanted man
'To think this has happened again, and they were joking about it, winding me up,' Judah Adunbi said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A police force that shot its own race relations adviser in the face with a Taser in a case of mistaken identity, have confused him for the same wanted man again.
Judah Adunbi claimed officers from Avon and Somerset police asked him if he was wanted man Royston McCalla as he left a shop near his home in Bristol.
“They were shouting ‘Hey Royston, Royston’ but I just kept my head down. They pulled in by the shop and kept calling me ‘Royston’,” The 64-year-old, known as Ras Judah, told the Bristol Post. “I decided to ignore them. They were saying: ‘Are you Royston or are you Ras?’”
He added: “There was one male officer and one female officer in the car. They were shouting this and then, as they drove away past me, they were giggling about it. I felt terrible. I walked home and locked my door and didn’t want to go back out. To think this has happened again, and they were joking about it, winding me up.”
The incident comes just weeks after a police constable was cleared of gross misconduct for using a stun gun to subdue Mr Adunbi, who was mistaken for McCalla during the incident in January last year.
Avon and Somerset police admitted the mistake in a statement.
“Officers on patrol in a marked car drove alongside a man in Chelsea Road yesterday evening to ask for his name, as they thought he might be a man wanted for a grievous bodily harm offence committed in Filton Avenue, Bristol, in the early hours of 11 October 2018,” it said.
“The man was asked to confirm his name but he didn’t reply. On closer look, officers were able to establish the man wasn’t the wanted suspect and they drove off. We fully accept the man the officers spoke to wasn’t the man we’re trying to trace.”
Mr Adunbi is a Rastafarian and founding member of an advisory group aimed at strengthening relations between the local police and the Afro-Caribbean community.
Last year, he was questioned by two officers – PC Claire Boddie and PC Darren Weston – while walking on the side of the road with his dog.
They mistakenly believed he was Mr McCalla, who was wanted at the time.
A misconduct hearing was told Mr Adunbi repeatedly refused to give the officers details of his identity – as was his right.
He told them he had been mistaken for Mr McCalla in the past.
PC Boddie drew her Taser and deployed it on the community elder without warning as the incident escalated last year. One of the barbs struck Mr Adunbi’s face.
In September, PC Boddie was cleared after a two-day misconduct hearing at Avon and Somerset police headquarters.
In May she had been found not guilty of assault by beating in relation to the incident, by Salisbury Magistrates’ Court.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments