Thread by @AVintenAuthor

I’ve decided to share my experience of being spiked by three male police officers. It’s something I have held inside for a long time, it’s something I have doubted and questioned myself about, it’s something I have no evidence of. But I know it happened. I lived it .. 1of

One of the reasons I’ve held back all this time is the fear of not being believed. I get a lot of trolling from #policetwitter and I know they’ll accuse me of making this up ‘for attention’ But I don’t care anymore, people need to know the truth about what it is like to be… 2of

A female cop, to be betrayed by the people who should keep you safest. I was attending a course at Hendon. It was a week’s course and was with a group of officers from across the @metpoliceuk. At the end of the course a couple of them suggested drinks .. 3of

We went to a bar in a new complex of bars/apartments that wasn’t there when I initially trained in 2004. It ended up being me and three male officers. I was drinking half pints of lager, they we’re drinking pints. I bought the first round but after that they insisted on .. 4of

Buying the drinks. I was having fun, I was a mother of two kids and didn’t get out much. After about 5 half pints I felt suddenly ill and went the the ladies. I felt dizzy and was sweating. I stated in the loo for quite a while, trying not to vomit, until one of them came and 5of

Knocked on the door to get me. I went back to the table and they had bought another round. I suddenly felt really uncomfortable, I noticed they were all grinning at each other, like they had a secret. I grabbed my bag and went back to the ladies, telling myself I just wasn’t 6of

Used to drinking anymore and I was being paranoid. These were cops! Of course I was safe. I felt so sick and wanted to go home, so I snuck out of the ladies and went the back way out of the bar, so I didn’t have to pass their table. Once out in the fresh air I started to .. 7of

Wobble towards the tube (Colindale) and just as I made it to the entrance I heard running behind me. It was one of the officers from the bar. He ran up to me and said he was glad he caught me, offering to carry my bag as I looked ‘worse for wear’ .. 8of

I clung onto my bag and we got on the tube. At this point I’m feeling sick, dizzy and very uncomfortable as he sits next to me and leans into my personal space to talk in my ear. He asks for my number, I remind him I’m married. He laughs it off - just as friends of course! 9of

We get to my stop and he says he’s going to come with me to ‘see me to my train’ I manage to drag myself out of my stupor enough to refuse and tell him to leave me alone. He rolls his eyes and backs off. I get to my train and text my husband that something is wrong before … 8of

I pass out. I wake up around half an hour later to missed calls & people staring. My husband meets me at the station and gets me home. I try to explain what happened but it is mushy in my head & when I talk about it the next day everyone seems to think I just drank too much 9of

I think maybe I did. Then I get an email from the guy who ran after me. He has CC’d in the two other guys who were drinking with us. He writes that I must feel embarrassed for being so pissed. I ignore him. One of the others replies saying ‘maybe it was the vodka shots’ .. 10of

And suddenly it all made sense. I’d seen vodka shots being slipped into blokes drinks before at drink ups. I suddenly knew it had happened to me. I think maybe this was the day I knew I was leaving the @metpoliceuk. The day I realised we weren’t actually ‘family.’ .. 11of

And anyone I told just rolled their eyes or chuckled like I’d had a practical joke played on me, like it was normal. I realise now that I was so institutionalised I had a warped idea of what normal was. It’s only after years out of the force that I see these things .. 12of

Clearly, for what they were. It’s not ‘banter’ to spike people’s drinks. It’s not okay to run after a woman who has clearly made efforts to get away from you. The culture that made them think this was okay still exists today. Nothing has changed. END