Driver Receives Damages After Police Smash Car Window
Officers terrified elderly driver when they began battering the window of his Range Rover.
Courtesy of - Guardian Unlimited
An elderly driver has received damages after police officers smashed his car window following a chase that began when he was challenged over not wearing a seatbelt.
Robert Whatley (73) said he was terrified when the officers began battering the driver-side window and jumping on to the bonnet of his Range Rover.
The incident was recorded by a video camera mounted inside the police car, and the footage was posted on YouTube and news websites.
Mr Whatley, of Usk, Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, said: "The police went completely over the top — you would have thought I had robbed a bank. I was terrified when they started smashing in the window and trying to kick in the windscreen. I feel the officers were too quick to turn to aggression."
He said he had brought the claim as a matter of principle and not for compensation.
The drama began when Mr Whatley, who has previously suffered a stroke and takes medication for a heart condition, was challenged by Gwent police for not wearing a seatbelt.
He drove off as the police were issuing a fixed-penalty notice, and later told Caerphilly magistrates court he thought the police had finished with him and he had needed his medication.
When he realised he was being followed by a patrol car with flashing blue lights and sirens, he thought they were giving him a police escort home, he told the court.
He was found guilty of not wearing a seatbelt, of failing to stop for a police officer and of having tinted car windows that did not conform to legal requirements.
He was fined a total of £235 and ordered to pay £300 towards prosecution costs. But he sued the police and it is understood the force has paid more than £20,000 in damages.
The police officers were investigated following the incident in 2010 but cleared of wrongdoing.
DCC Jeff Farrar said: "Gwent police have not accepted any liability in this matter, however contesting the matter further would have incurred substantial legal costs if the case had gone to court.
"Therefore, whilst we maintain our position that we do not admit liability, a decision was made to settle the matter out of court on financial grounds."
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