Olympics spectator with Parkinson's wants 'exoneration' after arrest - for not smiling.
25 replies, posted
[quote][I]Mark Worsfold, 54, says he was handcuffed by Surrey police officers 'for not smiling' while watching men's cycling road race[/I]
A man with Parkinson's disease who was arrested during the Olympic men's cycling road race while sitting beside the route has said he wants a "letter of exoneration" from Surrey police, claiming their treatment of him was disproportionate.
Mark Worsfold, 54, a former soldier and martial arts instructor, was arrested on 28 July for a breach of the peace shortly before the cyclists arrived in Redhouse Park, Leatherhead, where he had sat down on a wall to watch the race. Officers from Surrey police restrained and handcuffed him and took him to Reigate police station, saying his behaviour had "caused concern".
"The man was positioned close to a small group of protesters and based on his manner, his state of dress and his proximity to the course, officers made an arrest to prevent a possible breach of the peace," Surrey police said in a statement.
Worsfold, whose experience was first reported by Private Eye, claims police questioned him about his demeanour and why he had not been seen to be visibly enjoying the event. Worsfold, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2010, suffers from muscle rigidity that affects his face. He was released after two hours without charge or caution.
"It could have been done better. I was arrested for not smiling. I have Parkinson's," he said, adding that he realised the officers were working long hours and trying to control the event properly, but they had not, in his case, acted correctly. He said he did not want to make further comment until he received a response from Surrey police.
Worsfold, who teaches martial arts in Leatherhead, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last February for the Save the Rhino charity.
Surrey police said: "There were a number of factors which led officers to make this arrest, including the fact that the race was rapidly approaching, the heightened level of security due to the high-profile nature of the event and the sheer number of spectators in attendance. These were fully explained to the individual concerned. He was given words of advice and released with no further action."
They added that Worsfold had had "a number of knives" in his possession, but that these turned out to be made of rubber and for use only as display items.
The statement said: "Surrey police has received a letter from the man in which he has said that he 'fully understands and appreciates the action taken by officers'. He has also said that he 'appreciated and thanked both the arresting officers for their apologies and explanations' following his release."
Chief Superintendent Gavin Stephens said: "Officers were policing huge numbers of people during the Olympic events and in the interests of public safety they acted quickly and decisively based on the information available to them."
Campaigners, however, said the incident was illustrative of the kind of "chronic misunderstandings" people with Parkinson's have to deal with regularly. "Sadly Mark's experience highlights the lack of understanding and compassion that many people currently living with Parkinson's have to deal with every day," said Laura Bowey, head of information and support at Parkinson's UK.
"Despite affecting over 127,000 people in the UK, people with Parkinson's are subject to chronic misunderstandings and misconceptions about the condition. All too frequently people with Parkinson's tell us how are they are accused of being drunk, or acting suspiciously as they go about their daily lives.
"Parkinson's is a complex condition, and those living with it can experience a range of different symptoms that can vary almost on an hourly basis. We hope that Mark's experience will help to raise awareness of this distressing problem and will be a reminder to be careful about making the wrong assumptions about people who have Parkinson's."[/quote]
[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/08/olympics-spectator-parkinsons-arrest-smiling]Source[/url]
How dumb are we?
Wait wat
most confusing part
[Quote] They added that Worsfold had had "a number of knives" in his possession, but that these turned out to be made of rubber and for use only as display items.
[/Quote]
What the hell? They arrested him because they thought he looked like one of the protesters for not smilling?
Arrest the queen then! She wasn't smilling either!
I AM HAPPY
I ENJOY THE OLYMPICS
I AM A GOOD CITIZEN
unusual how they could mistake parkinson's for suspicious activity. i didn't realise shaking about was criteria for terrorism
[QUOTE=Bobie;37144040]unusual how they could mistake parkinson's for suspicious activity. i didn't realise shaking about was criteria for terrorism[/QUOTE]
He was trying to resonate at the precise frequency to make the UK crack, duh.
[QUOTE=Kendra;37144096]He was trying to resonate at the precise frequency to make the UK crack, duh.[/QUOTE]
Johnny Jihad can be a devious bastard, he'll find a way to make your socks explode if that's what it'll take to ruin the Olympics!
Seriously this sort of shit is just dumb as fuck, I can't believe they actually arrested a guy for not smiling at the Olympics.
Well that explains princes Diana's funeral...
EDIT: Ohh daily mail readers inbound.
Oh hey, a town really near me makes the news and its bad. Again.
Surrey police appear to be useless at most things, it was better when the metropolitan police covered the area I live in. This is the police force that in the last 12-18 months has sold a lot of its police stations (including my local one covering a town of 27k+ plus the surrounding area) and moved into town halls and community centres.
God help us all.
This reminds me of that "you're_not_on_facebook_you're_a_terrorist/fellon" nonsense.
Talk about stereotypes, dayum...
I think this part really needs to be stressed again
[quote]They added that [B]Worsfold had had "a number of knives" in his possession[/B], but that these turned out to be made of rubber and for use only as display items.[/quote]
[QUOTE=smurfy;37147737]I think this part really needs to be stressed again[/QUOTE]
You should stress more the words that come directly after that bolded part.
[QUOTE=Lethaxx;37143977]most confusing part[/QUOTE]
Rubber training knives for self-defence courses taught in martial arts.
Such as how to disarm an assailant, etc.
[QUOTE=EcksDee;37147805]You should stress more the words that come directly after that bolded part.[/QUOTE]
I'm not saying the arrest was justified, but carrying around a bunch of fake knives is just asking for trouble.
[QUOTE=Jsm;37144370]Oh hey, a town really near me makes the news and its bad. Again.
Surrey police appear to be useless at most things, it was better when the metropolitan police covered the area I live in. This is the police force that in the last 12-18 months has sold a lot of its police stations (including my local one covering a town of 27k+ plus the surrounding area) and moved into town halls and community centres.
God help us all.[/QUOTE]
I live in Surrey, the police here are actually quite good. Response times are quick, and they actually seem to care, too. When our house was robbed, the responding officer was really helpful. They even sent a forensic team, when all that was stolen was a digital camera
That said, they recently removed our local police station and replaced it with a single paperwork "officer" in the library. Not too sure how helpful he/she will be when needed
Holy 1984 batman.
I also have a number of knives in my possession but I generally use them to cut food
[QUOTE=Trumple;37148224]I live in Surrey, the police here are actually quite good. Response times are quick, and they actually seem to care, too. When our house was robbed, the responding officer was really helpful. They even sent a forensic team, when all that was stolen was a digital camera
That said, they recently removed our local police station and replaced it with a single paperwork "officer" in the library. Not too sure how helpful he/she will be when needed[/QUOTE]
There's not enough crime round here so half the force look for stupid petty things just to justify their paycheck, lots of them seem incredibly lazy
[QUOTE=jaykray;37148261]I also have a number of knives in my possession but I generally use them to cut food[/QUOTE]
TERRORIST
YOU WILL BE ARRESTED FOR MURDERING INNOCENT FOOD ITEMS
Happiness is mandatory. Failure to be happy is treason.
I think everyone needs to read the article more closely.
[quote]"Surrey police has received a letter from the man in which he has said that he 'fully understands and appreciates the action taken by officers'. He has also said that he 'appreciated and thanked both the arresting officers for their apologies and explanations' following his release."[/quote]
I'd say that's a pretty amicable resolution.
[QUOTE=Trumple;37148224]I live in Surrey, the police here are actually quite good. Response times are quick, and they actually seem to care, too. When our house was robbed, the responding officer was really helpful. They even sent a forensic team, when all that was stolen was a digital camera
That said, they recently removed our local police station and replaced it with a single paperwork "officer" in the library. Not too sure how helpful he/she will be when needed[/QUOTE]
Ill agree that they are pretty good with with responding etc but they do seem to make a larger than normal number of interesting judgement calls (usually at the higher level). Maybe every police force makes these crazy choices but I just don't hear about them as much due to not appearing in every form of local news.
[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;37148258]Holy 1984 batman.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, this mistaken arrest is totally the police becoming like the ones in 1984! open your eys ppl teh pulese r bcuming to powrfel!!!!!
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