A man was left feeling "shaken" and "breathless" after he was pepper-sprayed by officers and falsely arrested in Bristol at the weekend. Avon and Somerset Police has issued a lengthy statement after the incident and is now conducting a review using footage from body-worn cameras.
Garry Buck was in Stockwood on Saturday afternoon (February 11), where he attends church and regularly goes on nature walks in the area. The 30-year-old, from Barton Hill, was walking with his partner by Whitchurch Railway Path when he said he noticed police officers following him.
Officers were responding to a call made at 2.30pm on Saturday after a man was seen shouting outside an address in Stockwood, reportedly in breach of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO). Police have said they were assisted by members of the public to pursue Mr Buck, who at the time they believed was the suspect in question.
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Mr Buck, although unconnected to the case, admitted to fleeing the scene as his “natural instinct”. Reflecting on the incident, he told Bristol Live: “I started to run and the officer found me hiding because I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I suffer from mental health issues and my natural instinct was to run.”
When an officer caught up with him he was placed under arrest - which Mr Buck said he resisted - leading to him being PAVA-sprayed (a synthetic pepper spray). He said: “I explained that the woman was not my partner and I’d never seen her in my life.
“Then they started to arrest me and I started to resist because I thought ‘I’ve done nothing wrong why are you trying to arrest me for?’” He said he was then restrained by four officers who put him into the back of a police van to be taken into custody.
'I can't breathe'
Mr Buck claimed officers used a zip tie to handcuff him and said the hood of his jumper was covering his face, preventing him from breathing. “I couldn’t breathe and they weren’t listening to me. Finally, they did because I kept saying ‘I can’t breathe’,” he claimed.
A radio message informed the police that the actual suspect had been arrested by other officers. Bristol Live understands the other man appeared in front of Bristol Magistrates' Court on Monday and was convicted after admitting the breach.
After being detained for an estimated 45 minutes, Mr Buck said he was immediately de-arrested. “They stopped in the middle of the road once they realised they had the wrong man and started profusely apologising.”
Immediately after the ordeal, he said he felt shaky and breathless and his eyes were still burning from the spray. Police treated his eyes with water and advised fresh air would help reduce the stinging. He has since shared images of bruising on his body.
Mr Buck added: “The way they treated me was horrendous. I used to have a lot of respect for the police, and still do, but it was just crazy.”
He has filed a complaint with Avon and Somerset Police and said he is now contemplating further action. “They can’t go around treating people like that. They’ve got to be held to account like everyone else, just because they’re police officers they don’t have the right to treat people that way."
Full statement from Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Police has issued a response accounting what happened on February 11, 2023. The full statement shared with Bristol Live is as follows:
“At 2.30pm on Saturday (February 11) we received a report a man was shouting outside an address in Stockwood, Bristol, in breach of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) recently issued by magistrates. Recognising the risk the man presented to a vulnerable woman, officers were dispatched as a priority but the man fled the scene before they arrived.
“Members of the public pointed the two officers in the direction he had run, and they subsequently located the woman the DVPO is in place to protect. While talking to the woman, they saw a man looking at them from approximately 25 metres away who then ran off.
“Believing this man was the individual they were looking for, the officers followed him and with the help of another member of the public, found him hiding in undergrowth. While attempting to detain the man, one officer drew and arced their Taser – squeezing the trigger so an electric current arcs between the two contact points on the front of the Taser. The Taser was not fired.
“The man resisted arrest and PAVA spray was subsequently used. Two more officers arrived and the man was eventually restrained. He was then handcuffed and provided with water to rinse the PAVA spray before being placed in the back of a police van.
“While en route to the custody unit, the officers were informed the man wanted for breaching the DVPO had been arrested by other officers. The man they’d arrested then confirmed his identity and he was immediately de-arrested.
“The officers involved apologised to the man and provided him with their details as well as advice on how to make a complaint. Our Professional Standards Department received a complaint on Monday (February 13) and will now review the incident, which was captured on the officer’s body worn cameras.”
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