A Welsh musician has alleged that police officers in Cardiff punched him to the face with no provocation as he travelled home from a gig. Rock singer-songwriter James Kennedy claimed he was "absolutely terrified" for his life and thought he was being robbed by the men who, he alleged, were not in police uniform.
Mr Kennedy, 42, has complained to South Wales Police about the incident, which allegedly left him with injuries. The force says it is investigating allegations about a "stop-search" in Whitchurch and treating them "extremely seriously".
The performer from Caerphilly had played a gig at Brewhouse in St Mary Street on Wednesday, November 23, and left the venue at around 8.45pm. He said as he drove back the turning from Western Avenue into Ely Road was blocked due to flooding so he parked in Alfreda Road at around 9.10pm and picked up his phone to let his partner know he would be late home.
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"Within seconds of parking up and beginning to type on my phone my car was rapidly intruded by three men – one who got into my car via the passenger seat and grabbed my left arm and twisted it behind the driver's seat and the other two who opened the driver door, took my car keys, and grabbed my right hand," he claimed
"I was already sat down with a steering wheel in front of me and a seatbelt on so my movement was already significantly restricted and both of my hands were now being restrained by men on either side of me. All three of the men were wearing black civilian clothing and two of them were wearing hooded tops so I couldn't see their whole faces. It was dark on a night with heavy rain so my visibility was limited– especially as all three of the men entered my car from both sides at the same time and with such speed that I didn't even see them coming.
"Naturally my immediate reaction was to think that I was being robbed so I immediately pleaded with them not to take my phone. My father died in May and my phone contains my last messages and pictures of him so I desperately pleaded with them not to take my phone. I remember saying: 'Take my wallet, take whatever you want, but please don't take my phone.'
"I remember the officer who was restraining my right arm saying that they were police but I didn't believe him because they were dressed in hoodies and had a regular car parked next to mine, not a police car... Their intrusion into my car was also incredibly intimidating and aggressive and it felt much more likely to me that this was a group of three men who were robbing me.
"I was still clutching my phone in my left hand despite my left arm being bent around the back of my driver's chair by the man in the passenger seat, who then punched me in the side of my face. This action of course shocked me into dropping my phone, which he then quickly picked up. It became apparent to me that these men now had my phone and my car keys and that I was essentially being bullied into giving them my possessions. So I started screaming for help."
Mr Kennedy claims he believed the men were pretending to be police as "a ploy to get me out of the car" so they could steal it. He insists he did not physically resist at any point. The musician, who is 5ft 4ins tall, says the men were bigger and "could have beaten me up easily".
He added he was "really upset and scared" by the thought he could lose the messages from his father Howard. As he screamed one of the men threatened to use a Taser, he claims.
"I didn't believe him so I continued to scream for help whilst the man on my right applied a handcuff to my right wrist," Mr Kennedy claimed. "When it became apparent that no-one was coming to help me I admitted defeat and agreed to get out of the car, accepting that I had now been robbed.
"Both of my hands were then handcuffed. I was put into the back of a regular, non-police car and driven away by two men in regular clothing whilst the third man drove off with my car and phone. Again I was absolutely terrified for my life, wondering what these men now wanted with me having already succeeded in robbing me. I was genuinely considering trying to fall out of the moving car in order to escape.
"They said again that they were police and that I was being taken for a full-body strip search for possession of drugs. This again was an unfathomable notion to me as a boring, middle-aged, professional man who doesn’t use drugs. I'm a clean-living guy who wouldn't even know where to get hold of drugs so this seemed like a ridiculous lie to me and I was generally terrified as to what these men now wanted with me. Only when we were at the police station did I begin to calm down."
Mr Kennedy claims he was driven to Fairwater police station and complied with all instructions which allegedly included a "degrading" strip search. He added: "I had to squat down without shoes, socks, trousers, or underwear and cough, among other things."
He says no drugs were found on him and he was allowed to leave after around half an hour in the station. He received no apology, paperwork, or explanation for the officers' alleged behaviour, he claims.
"As the three officers walked me to my car one of them joked that I 'must have taken a good five punches' earlier on," Mr Kennedy claimed. "One of the officers also commented that the station had just received a phone call to report the screaming on Alfreda Road so at least someone somewhere might have seen or heard something.
"I then drove home. I don’t recall seeing any body cams on any of the officers. None of my details were taken at the station. In fact I didn’t even see anyone else at the station because the officers took me in and out of the station via a side door... I’m convinced that they hadn’t even done a background check on me before making their move because if they did they would have found that I have no criminal record, a clean driver's licence, and a fully legal vehicle."
Mr Kennedy said that his right wrist was cut and bruised from the handcuff and that this has left him unable to play guitar resulting in five of his shows being cancelled. He added that his doctor has confirmed tissue damage to the wrist and claimed he was still in pain after a week. The musician also had swelling to the left side of his face from punches, he alleges.
"The physical injuries are nothing compared to the mental and emotional trauma of the experience," he said. "I have barely slept in several nights and I have been unable to shake off the feelings of absolute terror that I felt when I was being restrained in my car. I am deeply, deeply unhappy with how the situation was executed. I was 100% innocent and doing nothing more than sitting in my car.
"To be physically restrained, punched, threatened with being tasered, and being forcefully subdued by the very people I trust to protect me will leave a long-lasting dislike and distrust of the police. I’m too scared to go out in my car, I keep checking my front door is locked, and I’m jumping at the slightest sound. I now also have to live with the effects of the trauma, loss of income, and injuries suffered from their 'mistake'."
He added: "I have no problem being in the presence of police officers. As a live entertainer I am frequently stopped by police officers who have seen my car pulling out of music venues late at night on the reasonable suspicion of me being a drunk-driver. I have had many interactions of this nature and I'm always happy to politely comply. But that's because they're wearing a police uniform, not a hoodie and jeans, because they calmly approach my car, not descend upon me from both sides with force and punch me in the face."
Chief superintendent Mark Lenihan, head of professional standards at South Wales Police, confirmed the force has received a complaint following a "stop-search". He added: "The force takes such allegations extremely seriously and the matter has been allocated to the professional standards department for investigation. As the investigation is at an early stage it would not be appropriate to comment on the circumstances of the stop-search or the specific allegations being made."
You can read more news from Cardiff here. For the latest breaking news across Wales visit our homepage.
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