Man wins damages after police mistake him for burglar and ‘break his leg’

An innocent man whose leg was broken when police wrongfully arrested him has won £12,000 in damages.

Stephen Feehan, 40, claimed he was shopping for clothes in west London to wear at a relative’s funeral when plain-clothes officers tackled him.

He thought a ‘gang of men’ were trying to ‘mug’ him, but he was taken to a police station by the officers and held for almost 24 hours on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary.

The labourer missed the funeral and claimed a doctor at the police station failed to diagnose his fractured fibula.

He said: ‘It was an absolute nightmare and they did that to me, an innocent man, preparing for a funeral of his 94-year-old great uncle.

‘It is just a blessing that they didn’t have guns as we all know what happened to Jean Charles De Menez, who was the Brazilian shot dead at Stockwell Tube Station.

‘That was another case of mistaken identity, so it’s terrifying what the Met police are capable of.

‘It was so very nasty and I couldn’t believe afterwards that they were in fact police.

‘Of course, they later claimed they had shouted “stop police”, but that never happened; they just seemed to be a gang of men trying to mug me as far as I was concerned.

‘When they got me back to the cells I told them I had a broken leg, but they wouldn’t believe me or allow me any treatment.

‘And because the allegation against me was one of conspiracy to burgle, I was not allowed to make a phone call.

‘They kept calling me by another name, who I am not, but then they said ‘if you’re not him then you are still a person of interest.’

‘It was insane and apparently the CCTV in the car park by the Matalan wasn’t working for the half hour when all this happened to me.

He added: ‘It was such a vicious, unprovoked attack that I suffered depression and anxiety afterwards and the doctors told me I had an adjustment disorder.

‘It was so brutal on the eve of a funeral when you are very emotional anyway. It was sheer hell.’

Mr Feehan was staying with family in west London at the time of the incident on December 15, 2014, but he has since relocated to `1Waterford, Ireland.

His solicitor Jane Walker said: ‘It was a shocking case of mistaken identity and we were instructed to investigate Stephen’s claim against the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis arising out of an incident in which without warning he suffered substantial injuries, including a fracture to his leg.

‘At first, Stephen did not realise he was being accosted by police officers as he had not seen them approach him.

‘It was a case of mistaken identity; the police officers thought they were dealing with a different man. They called our client by a different name, but Stephen kept telling the police he was not that person.

‘He was arrested and taken to Uxbridge Police Station. By the time he was processed at the police station, the police knew that they had arrested the wrong man.

‘Nonetheless, they did not release him; they continued to detain him in custody for a total period of just under 24 hours. He was not taken to hospital for his injuries. The client was eventually released on bail and no further action was taken by the police.

‘The police defended the claim, stating lawful force was used to effect a lawful arrest.

‘The claim of false imprisonment was denied on the basis that it was necessary to keep Stephen in custody, firstly to verify his identity, and then to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of his conduct.

‘The police have settled the claim out of court with a five figure sum.’

Mr Feehan received £12,000 in compensation, the Mirror reports, but he said, ‘I don’t think it accounts for the hell I’ve endured.’

A police spokesman said: ‘The Met confirms the civil claim has been settled out of court. We do not discuss settlement terms.’