It was a tale of two front doors. In February 2008, Mr and Mrs Richardson found themselves faced by angry police officers at their front door after calling for their assistance when bailiffs wrongly came to clamp Mr Richardson’s car.
On Saturday, 7 January 2012, they met Detective Sergeant Nick Westwood, representative of the Professional Standards Department for the Metropolitan Police, at the front door of Greenwich Seventh-day Adventist Church, London as he came to make a public apology to the couple during a morning church service.
Det. Sergeant Westwood took this unusual step following bridge-building meetings between the couple, the church and the Metropolitan Police. In his apology, on behalf of the London Metropolitan Police, Westwood admitted “the police get things wrong occasionally.” He went on to say, “The police entered the couple’s address without the powers to do so…we’ve looked at this and it’s quite apparent that the police made a mistake. It has been a humbling experience being here today and I hope the apology goes some way to putting things right with Alison and Clive”.
Clive Richardson, first elder in the Greenwich church, along with his wife, Alison, were involved in a dispute with the police when, two years ago, bailiffs came to wrongfully clamp his car. Mr Richardson called the police to help resolve the situation but, on arrival, officers treated both he and his wife badly, roughly handling them in their own home and eventually arresting Alison.
One female officer, who previously claimed Mrs Richardson had punched her in the face, later amended her statement claiming she had instead been hit in the chest after medics could not find evidence of the former accusation. The couple described how they did not raise a hand to, or resist, the police during the exchange and were perplexed as to why they were being mistreated. Mr Richardson expressed, “It was a devastating situation. However, the church and its members have been so supportive; prayer works! And here I stress the importance of the Church family”.
Mrs Richardson was fined and sentenced to 150 hours of community service, 80 of which she served before the judgment against her was overthrown on appeal. Due to the original ruling, she lost her CRB accreditation and was therefore asked to step down from church office in the local Greenwich Seventh-day Adventist church. When asked how she feels about the apology Alison said, “I feel relieved but, even though it was a punishment, it was also a blessing. I got to speak to a few individuals there about Christ”.
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