Suffolk Police Threaten To Arrest Cameraman; Play Good Cop Bad Cop

Marcus Potter was filming outside of a football stadium in Suffolk, England when the security guards called the police on him. The police claimed that he was no longer wanted and threatened to remove him from a public sidewalk by force, if he failed to comply with their orders. However after standing strong, Marcus was left to his own devices and the officers left him in peace.

Let this serve as evidence that standing your ground and filming your interactions with police, in a calm and collected manner will lead to you being left alone with your rights intact.

• Date: July 30, 2016
• Police Constables 1235 and 1908
• Suffolk Constabulary Telephone: +441473613500
• Suffolk Police Website

On the 30th July 2016, I was filming Portman Road stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk when I was approached by security guards who threatened me with violence if I did not move on. I did as they asked and a short while later I was approached by two police officers, Police Constables 1235 and 1908.

They asked me who I was, where I lived and for my date of birth. Rather foolishly I provided them with this information and explained that I wished to report that I had been threatened by one of the guards who said to me something along the lines of “If you don’t move then I will use force to remove you” despite the fact that I was standing on a public footpath and not on Ipswich Town Football Club property.

One of the officers, PC 1235 then went and spoke to the guards. PC 1908 asked me a few questions to which I replied “No comment” and also ran me through the Police National Computer to check that I was not wanted. Shortly after, PC 1235 then returned and spoke to me. Both officers then adopted the good cop, bad cop technique with PC 1235 being the bad cop and PC 1908 being the good cop as they continued interviewing me about happened.

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PC 1235 then pointed out that I was causing “harassment, alarm and distress to people inside the football grounds which is why they have phoned police” and said that if I continued filming I would be “committing a public order offense”. PC 1908 explained that I was “making them feel quite uncomfortable” by what I was doing “because I don’t think the people here want you here any more” to which I replied that I would continue filming.

PC 1235 suggested that I desist filming or “move on to another area”. PC 1235 said that I was causing “harassment, alarm and distress to people inside that football ground which is why they have phoned the Police Marcus”. She also said that “I’ve not made a threat at all” and “we only arrest people when its necessary because its a breach of people’s human rights”. She finally warned me that “if we get further calls you will be arrested”. Both officers got in their car and drove off. They later drove past me again, but did not stop.

Suffolk Police Threaten To Arrest Cameraman; Play Good Cop Bad Cop is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights