Manchester: Moped theft suspect is brought down by police

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A police force has forked out more than £4,000 to settle a dispute with a man an officer tackled in a park after mistakenly suspecting he was involved in the theft of a moped.

Montell Collins, 27, was pillion passenger on the vehicle when it was cornered by an officer in Moss Side, Manchester.

Footage shows Mr Collins refusing to get to his knees so the officer CS sprayed the young man, who is a baggage handler at Manchester Airport.

In the clip, Mr Collins is heard screaming: “I can’t breathe. I’m sorry. I can’t breathe. Please, I can’t breathe.”

He brought a civil claim against Greater Manchester Police following the incident, alleging assault and false imprisonment. The parties settled their dispute before it went to court, reports Manchester Evening News.

The man was paid £4,100 in a “full and final settlement of the claim” but the constabulary does not admit liability.

The police officer has not been disciplined by the force as Greater Manchester Police says he did not do anything wrong.

Speaking after the settlement, Mr Collins said: “He was on top of me and his hands around my neck. I’m screaming for people to help. I thought I was going to die. I could not breathe. He sprayed me. His face just changed and he was proper angry. He had his knees on me. He was basically sat on me.

“I was absolutely stunned and shocked. I couldn’t believe it.”

Mr Collins said he suffered a cut hand and bruising to his leg in the encounter.

“My eyes were stinging for days,” he added.

The 27-year-old said he was de-arrested at the scene but officers insisted he get back into the police van to be taken home, prompting his claim for false imprisonment. Officers came into his home but left after his mother told them to “get the f*** out of my house”, according to Mr Collins.

He admitted he had convictions for street robbery and police assault, and had served four months in prison. He said he had mixed with the “wrong crowd” growing up but had turned over a new leaf since 2014.

“I picked myself up and got myself working and I’ve been working at the airport as a baggage handler for a year now,” said Mr Collins, who said the police treatment he experienced was “disgusting”.

Mr Collins, from Sale, Greater Manchester, went on: “They still don’t accept that they are in the wrong. The only thing they said was that would offer the officer more training. That completely baffles me. If that’s the right way for an officer to behave, then something is totally wrong with the police in this country.”

He said there was “nothing sinister” in wearing a balaclava and helmet as he was a pillion passenger on a moped.

His solicitor Matthew McConville, of Irvings Law, said: “It goes without saying that our clients (and the public in general) have the right to expect integrity in the police service and should have confidence in police officers to act in a professional manner. Unfortunately, here, there has been a definite shortfall in the service that Mr Collins has received in this incident and there are grave concerns over how Greater Manchester Police dealt with it as a whole too.”

Police body cam footage shows Mr Collins wearing a motorcycle helmet as he walked through Alexandra Park in Moss Side on June 8, 2018.

The officer approaches him and requests that he “get on his knees”.

Mr Collins is seen removing his helmet, revealing he is wearing a black balaclava underneath as the officers says: “Get on your knees pal.”

The officer then grabs Mr Collins and forces him to the ground.

Mr Collins is heard to scream: “I can’t breathe. I’m sorry. I can’t breathe. Please, I can’t breathe.” He tells the officer: “Yo, please lad. Yo mate.”

The officer then tells him  “you’re gonna get gassed” before using his CS spray on him. Mr Collins, sounding increasingly desperate, says: “I know, I’m sorry. I’ll put my hands behind my back. I’m sorry. What have I done?”

He appears to plead “please help me” to a passerby, and when he asks again “what have I done?”

The officer answers: “You’ve been threatening and aggressive towards me.”

“I’ve not done nothing officer,” Mr Collins is heard to say, as the officer confirms he is “under arrest for theft” as he handcuffs the suspect.

Mr Collins asks “theft of what?” and “what did I do bruv?” and later says: “I’ve not done nothing.” He tells the officer the rider had ridden off as he had “just panicked”.

As he is led away, Mr Collins continues to protest and, asked why the bike had ridden off without stopping for police, he shouts: “I was on the back. What the f*** can I do?”

He threatens he will “bang you out” to the officer and calls him “little p***k” as he is bundled into a police car.

Separate footage, taken by a bystander on his mobile phone, shows Mr Collins being taken down by the officer, prompting the bystander to shout: “Leave him alone, what is he doing? What has he done? The guy’s stopped, what you spraying him up for man?”

Mr Collins said: “I’d just been to the barber with my mate to get a haircut and I was on the back of the bike travelling home when we stopped at traffic lights. The next thing I knew somebody leaned out of a car and tried to get hold of me. I didn’t know it was the police. It was an unmarked police car. I thought I was being robbed.”

He described how the rider rode into Alexandra Park and that he then went on foot when he was stopped by an officer on foot who arrested him.

He said: “I was just confused because I’ve never had anything like that before. He lunged at me.”

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