Dementia-hit grandfather, 81, is ‘confused and bruised’ after arrest by police who went to the WRONG address – where ‘ten’ officers put him into back of a van for ‘attacking one of them with a stick’

• Police arrested a man, 81, on Friday after they responded to the wrong address
• The old man from Potton suffers with Alzheimers and was injured in the arrest 
• Bedfordshire police said the man struck an officer with a wooden implement
• The police force referred itself to the IOPC following the incident and the man was released under investigation

An 81-year-old man with Alzheimer’s was left ‘confused and bruised’ after he was arrested by police visiting the wrong address.

Bedfordshire police arrested the elderly man in in Potton at 5am on Friday on suspicion of assault on an emergency worker – with what they described as a wooden implement ‘similar to a rounders bat in size and shape’.

The arrest appears to have left the dementia-sufferer with multiple cuts and bruises on his arms for which his granddaughter Kayla claims he has to see a plastic surgeon on Tuesday. 

In a tweet, Kayla said: ‘My 81yr old grandad having been arrested because @BedsPolice got the wrong address at 3am. 

‘He was terrified, ill and it took 10 officers/6 vehicles to arrest him. Maybe his heart attack gave him superpowers? He’s in the cells, confused and bruised trying to defend himself.’

In videos of the incident the officer explaining the charge described the object as a stick rather than a ’rounders bat’.

Two police officers had responded to the wrong address – the home of the grandfather – leading to the incident with as many as 10 believed to have then attended. 

Police said an officer sustained a cut to the face in the assault and that the pensioner was taken into custody for a brief period and has since been released under investigation. 

The video shows Bedfordshire police arresting an elderly man at 5am on Friday

The arrest appears to have left the dementia-sufferer with multiple cuts and bruises on his arms

The man being put into the van was arrested on suspicion of assault on an emergency worker with what was described as a wooden implement

Two videos were filmed as the grandfather was arrested and in one his son can he heard saying ‘he’s already had two strokes. You’re not making this any better.’

He said: ‘He’s got stuff with his brain, he’s got Alzheimer’s, early stages of it. You’re just making it worse. You won’t look after him, he’s f***ing petrified.

‘You’re literally not making it any better at all, and if he has a heart attack here, there will be consequences.

‘He’s already had two strokes. He’s got tablets, have a look at them, he’s got eight different tablets. You’re not making this any better.’

The arresting police officer can be heard on video conversing with the grandfather in the back of a police vehicle. 

She said: ‘Sir I gave you plenty of opportunities to put it down, the reason the handcuffs went on is because you assaulted my colleague. Regardless of age, you do not assault anybody, okay. Just because he’s 81-years-old…’

The son interjected and accused the officer of wasting everyone’s time.

The officer continued: ‘It’s not about that. And you’re wasting my time as well. Just because someone is 81 that doesn’t give them the right to assault people.’

The elderly man then asked who he assaulted and claimed he never touched anyone, however his son pointed out he may not remember it. 

The son said: ‘You’ve got people staring at you thinking what a bunch of f***ing idiots, you’ve got ten coppers here and four vehicles arresting an 81-year-old who probably could have a stroke.’ 

The granddaughter of the injured man Kayla claimed he is seeing a plastic surgeon on Tuesday for the injuries 

The man is pictured with a deep cut to his right upper arm after police arrested him on suspicion of assaulting a police officer

The videos were filmed by the grandson of the man arrested. Pictured is the son of the man arrested

Two police officers initially attended the wrong address after a call of a disturbance which sparked the incident 

The 81-year-old can be seen hobbling toward the back of a police van and asking ‘where are you taking me?’.

He said: ‘All I was doing was watching television. So why is all this out, I was watching television. You aren’t interested. Let go of my arm. I’m not a criminal.’ 

The arresting officer spoke to the son regarding the wooden implement.

She said: ‘He shouldn’t have brought that outside. I understand that he’s you’re father but you also need to understand he cannot be doing that in public.’

The son responded: ‘Well you shouldn’t be looking through his window scaring the b****y life out of him.’

After the incident several police officers and vehicles attended the scene and the grandfather was placed in the back of a police car

The son can be heard in the video saying ‘you shouldn’t be looking through his window scaring the b****y life out of him (his father)’

The man was taken into custody for a brief period and has since been released under investigation

Bedfordshire police released a statement of social media on Saturday. It said: ‘Two uniformed officers responding to reports of a disturbance in Potton at around 5am on Friday initially approached the wrong address by mistake.

‘As they walked away from the property, they were approached in the street by a resident holding a wooden implement.

‘The two officers at the scene called for back-up and several other units attended for support. All these officers were in full uniform and in marked police vehicles. 

‘Before further units arrived, an altercation ensued where one of our officers tried to take the wooden implement from the resident, during which she sustained a cut to her face.

‘A man in his 80s was arrested on suspicion of assault on an emergency worker. 

‘He was taken into custody for a brief period and has since been released under investigation, while we assess the evidence.’ 

Detective Chief Superintendent Julie Henderson from Bedfordshire Police said: ‘We understand the concerns regarding this incident and are carrying out our own internal review. 

‘We have also voluntarily referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for full openness and transparency and to ascertain if there is any learning to be taken forward.

‘Over the coming days the welfare of all those involved will be our primary concern.’

Source: Read Full Article