Thread by @sarahlasoye

Coming through #Dartford station this evening (7pm) I witnessed a young boy of colour being held face down to the ground by multiple railway enforcement officers and an undercover police officer. He was shouting, clearly distressed, and appeared to be crying.

I was told by a member of #Dartford station staff "not to worry," the boy had "assaulted a member of staff" I was encouraged to leave, told the police were on their way. A member of station staff jokingly laughed to another that the boy "apparently already has 9 arrest warrants!"

No member of staff, railway enforcement or police officer appeared concerned by the boy's extreme distress. As I continued to watch, they eventually removed their excessive restraint, let the boy sit up from his stomach and allowed him to sit up. 5 officers surrounded him.

I asked 3/4 different officers to allow me to give the boy a small "advice on arrest" card from @GBCLegal. One officer told me "I'm not sure I can pass this on as it's saying something different to what we're telling him." suggesting to me that they were abusing his legal rights

I continued to ask to give him the card. Two officers then told me to take a step back. I asked why and was told I was in the way. (I was at least 5 metres away from the boy, and in between us were 4/5 officers.)

I refused. They the escalated their demand and told me to move behind the barriers (multiple metres away). I didn't as there was no legal reason for me to do so. I was also concerned for the boy's wellbeing, particularly as there were no longer members of the public witnessing.

The two officers raised their voices, repeatedly telling me to move, and saying "We're asking nicely now." I refused to move. Eventually the undercover officer spoke to me, and handed over the legal advice card to the boy. The boy thanked me. He was still in visible distress.

This was truly disgusting to witness. The lack of care for this child, officers disregarding his clear emotional distress, officers removing public witnesses. This incident and the conduct of the officers present needs to be thoroughly investigated @Dartford_Labour @Kelly_Grehan

One of the officers told me the incident was being recorded on body cam footage. This needs to be reviewed and their conduct investigated. @Dartford_Labour @Kelly_Grehan @kentpolicedart

I will be contacting Dartford MP Gareth Johnson tomorrow morning to discuss this incident and the conduct of Dartford police officers on the whole. The punitive and carceral responses to kids, teenagers, people clearly in need of care and social support cannot continue.

if you're looking for organisations to support: @4FrontProject @cradlecommunity @LCAPSV @KidsOfColourHQ @RaceJustice @MonitoringGroup @CAPExpansion