Police unlawfully assault Derby couple

Derbyshire police have admitted their officers unlawfully stormed into the home of a Derby couple and assaulted them.

The force admitted its officers unlawfully entered the home of Andrew and Sabrina Fearn in Alvaston.

An officer grabbed Mr Fearn “by the neck against the wall”, after Mrs Fearn was also “grabbed by the back of the neck with one hand” and had her head pushed down when police tried to get access to the house.

On the night, legal documents show, Mr Fearn complained to police that he couldn’t see and was “struggling to breathe” after incapacitating spray was sprayed in his direction.

Police also threatened him with the sound of a Taser to warn him he would be tasered if he didn’t comply to instructions. He was then handcuffed and put in a police van.

After that, he was detained in a police station for 15 hours, according to papers.

But it was found there was no lawful reason for police to use such force on either Mr or Mrs Fearn, nor to arrest Mr Fearn.

Derbyshire police admitted its officers went outside their powers and acted unlawfully.

It all started when the couple had a house party in their Alvaston home in December 2022.

Earlier in the night, Mrs Fearn called police to report there was a knife near the property. Police attended the scene and then shortly left.

But the police came back soon afterwards, believing someone was injured inside the house and needed urgent medical attention, and wanted to enter.

Mrs Fearn, 31, refused to let police in and pushed on the officers before they forced entry and used physical force on her.

Mr Fearn, 40, then stepped in to protect his wife, fearing she was being hurt. Police then used unnecessary force on him.

As the couple themselves made physical contact with officers during the incident, both were arrested and charged with assaulting an emergency worker.

However, these charges were thrown out in the middle of their court trial when police gave evidence to say the forced entry to the house was unlawful.

The couple then fought a civil case against Derbyshire police, receiving £9,000 in damages.

The officers involved faced no disciplinary action, Derbyshire police said in a statement.

Mrs Fearn said: “It has caused an awful amount of stress. My mental health was so bad that whenever anyone came to my door I would lock it.

“I’ve been terrified. I have awful PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

“If I entered someone’s property unlawfully and harmed people I would be done for assault. I would have a criminal record.

“Not one of those police officers have been held accountable for what they have done. We’ve never had an apology.”

A Derbyshire police spokesperson apologised for the “distress and harm that was caused by the incident”.

“Firstly, we would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the distress and harm that was caused by this incident,” the spokesperson added.

“At the time of the incident, it was the honestly held belief of the officers that an individual may have been present in the house who had been injured and may have required immediate medical attention.

“It was later found that, due to the time that elapsed between the initial call and officers entering, that the grounds under Section 17 of PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) were not met and that the entry, and all other matters following it, were unlawful.

“Following the criminal trial, in which both individuals were found not guilty, we received a civil claim for damages arising from the trespass on to the property, the unlawful arrest of the man, assault and battery on both parties, and trespass on the person for both parties – which the force accepted.”

The statement adds: “The officers involved were not subject to any disciplinary matters and no complaints in relation to their conduct have been made.

“As a force, we always expect the highest possible standards of conduct from our officers and staff.

“However, they are also human and may make errors as has occurred in this situation and we will always seek to learn from incidents to improve our response.”