Police pay £40k to disabled woman, who says they ‘burst into her home and pinned her against the wall’, “I was treated like a serial killer”

A woman who alleges she was arrested forcibly by South Wales Police officers who barged into her house at 2.30am and pinned her to a wall, inflicting long-term injuries, has won £40,000 in compensation and a formal apology from the force. Louise Badman reports that three uniformed cops arrived at her ground floor apartment in Pyle, south Wales, in the early hours of September 12, 2020, and started pounding on the window.

Mother-of-one Louise said that she awoke and proceeded to the front door, where she opened a window near the door and began communicating with one of the police officers. She claimed she asked the officers why they were there, to which one replied that they were going to arrest her for harassing a man she’d never met in person but had interacted with on social media – a case that was quickly dropped due to a lack of evidence and which Louise maintained was a “malicious false allegation.”

Louise, 49, stated she then asked officers whether they needed a warrant to enter her home. When the police stated that they did not have a warrant, she stated that she requested them to return at a reasonable hour in the morning when she claimed she would meet with them. She stated that an officer then reached through the window, twisted a key in the door lock, and “barged” into the home. “They grabbed me aggressively, pinned me to the wall, and put my hands behind my back in an abnormal position while handcuffing me,” Louise described her “traumatic” experience.

“Because of the location of my compressed herniated discs in my spine and the force used by the officers I was in a serious amount of pain and distress while they had my arms behind my back,” she claimed. “I was screaming at them pleading with them to stop because they were hurting me but they kept telling me to calm down and do as I was told, or words to that effect.”

“I had no criminal record, no previous markers, and they had no reason to believe I was a threat. Yet they barged into my house in the early hours of the morning, I believe to catch me out, like I was some sort of serial killer. I absolutely understand why at times police forces would want to act like that at such a time in the day, especially when the person they’re looking to arrest is dangerous or a potentially serious criminal.”

“I am not dangerous in any way, I am not a criminal and I’m definitely not a threat to anyone. I am five feet tall and I am disabled. What they did to me on that day was disproportionate and totally unnecessary following a malicious and false accusation that was made against me by a man I’d been critical of on social media.”

Louise stated her pyjama trousers came down twice during the arrest, once outside on the street when police were loading her into the back of a vehicle. She has bravely revealed she was raped as a child, and said her experience with the police made her feel “helpless and like that 11-year-old girl all over again”.

“This was the same force that was dealing with that separate case, so it wouldn’t have been difficult to find out how vulnerable I was at that time,” she said. “I would have been on their system and I would have been known to them.”

“I had no footwear on and was not allowed to change out of my pyjamas before I was manhandled out of my flat and into the police van aggressively. They shouted at me to get into the van. I couldn’t get into the van without using my arms because of my disabilities. In that process my trousers fell down for a second time while we were outside. I felt extremely vulnerable, and I then began to suffer shock and I was very anxious. I also remember being freezing cold.”

“I was taken to Bridgend Police Station where I asked for a cup for a drink of water, for a blanket, a mattress, a gown or a coat, but I was denied all of those things,” Louise claimed. “I was in the station for 18 hours and could not change out of my pyjamas all day until I was released. The only time I was given a blanket was during my interview. I had to drink water by cupping my hands. It was an inhumane experience. I also asked for my medication for my back, my anxiety and for my asthma, but those requests were also ignored. I feel that my basic human rights were breached throughout.”

Following extensive negotiations between both sides, South Wales Police has now written to Louise’s representative, apologizing and offering an out-of-court settlement, which Louise claimed she reluctantly accepted on the advice of her lawyers. “I didn’t have the emotional strength or capacity to participate in another very distressing court proceeding because I was in fear and purgatory after the attack,” she explained.

The apology, signed off by Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Bacon, reads: “I am the Deputy Chief Constable and I have been involved in considering your claim against the police. I am sorry for the actions of our officers at your home on September 12, 2020, when you were arrested and handcuffed and I appreciate the distress caused to you. “

“I have been informed that these events were traumatic for you and have damaged your confidence in the police and your health. I hope that this apology and the settlement of civil proceedings will rebuild your confidence in the police and start the healing process.”

Despite collecting £40,000 from the police, Louise stated that, while she hoped her back and shoulder injuries would heal, the emotional scars of the ordeal were still as painful three years later. “I would give every penny back to change my life and make that terrible day never happen to me. I’ve had horrible thoughts since that day, and the trauma, anxiety, and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder I’ve had since I was assaulted as a child have intensified as a result of this incident.”

“I hope that from my case South Wales Police and other forces can become more trauma informed, and can have thorough training to understand how to treat extremely vulnerable people they are dealing with. I still feel a very deep sense of injustice about what happened to me that I can’t shake off. Three officers were not punished for what they did to me. How can it be right that forces act like this and then feel they can sort it out with money?”

“It might be over for the police, but for me it isn’t over. How am I expected to move on? I feel like I was attacked needlessly and treated extremely disrespectfully by people who are paid to protect the public. If I attacked a police officer I would be in a prison cell now,” she claimed.

“Not to blow my own trumpet, but I believe I’m relatively intelligent and articulate. If they can do this to me, it begs the question of what has happened to others.”

Responding to what Louise has said, DCC Bacon added: “I have apologised for the actions of officers when Ms Badman was arrested and handcuffed and for the distress this caused. I am aware that these events were traumatic and have damaged her confidence in the police as well as her health. I hope the apology and settlement of the civil proceedings will rebuild her confidence in the police and start the healing process.”