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Witness tells LBC of 'incredibly distressing' mistaken arrest of Sex Education star 'kicked and pepper sprayed'
18 September 2024, 09:21 | Updated: 18 September 2024, 09:34
Eyewitness tells of 'incredibly distressing' mistaken arrest of Sex Education actor
An eyewitness has shed fresh light on the mistaken arrest of the Sex Education star who was kicked and pepper sprayed by police in west London, as he accused them of racial profiling.
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Leontine Hass told LBC's Nick Ferrari that the incident with Reece Richards, who played Eugene in Sex Education, was "incredibly distressing" and recalled how he screamed during the arrest.
Police confirmed they had received a complaint but none of the officers involved had been disciplined.
The incident took place on September 4, after Mr Richards witnessed a car crash as he was coming home from acting in the West End show Hairspray. Police were pursuing three men who fled a crashed car near his home. He said police mistook him for one of the suspects and he was arrested.
Acting coach Ms Hass, who is a former drama teacher of Mr Richards and lives on the same street as him, said she was woken up by the noise of the incident and ran down.
"Three of them were holding him down on the ground," she said. "This went on for a very long time. He'd been pepper sprayed. He couldn't see anything.
"He was incredibly distressed because he was blinded. His mother was trying to intervene, trying to talk to them. I was trying to talk to them, saying he's a student of mine. I know him."
She added that police "completely ignored us, and we tried for a very long period of time, on several occasions. We weren't allowed anywhere near him."
TV star Brenda Edwards was also a witness and told police that if they didn't stop, the incident would end up on her show Loose Women.
Ms Hass said they were "incredibly distressed, because Reece was screaming, and it was just incredibly distressing".
Asked if Mr Richards had offered any resistance to police, Ms Hass told him: "No, absolutely not... I wasn't there right at the beginning. He told me he was trying to be helpful. I think he actually told them in which direction they'd run."
Police later de-arrested Mr Richards. Describing the incident, Mr Richards wrote on Instagram: "They pepper-sprayed me, kicked my legs out from under me, threw me to the ground, and handcuffed me.
'In a flash, I was face-down on the pavement with multiple officers holding me down, forcing my head into the ground.
'I was already injured from the show, but having four officers on top of me worsened my injuries to my back, ribs, and stomach.
'I couldn't see anything, but I could hear my mum nearby, screaming and crying, begging them to let me go.'
The Met police have confirmed they have received a complaint over the incident.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “We are aware of a video circulating on social media of a man being detained in the Fulham area.
“Officers often find themselves in dynamic, challenging situations and have to make split-second judgements on which course of action to take.
“Officers had been pursuing three men who had run out of a car that had crashed in Fulham Palace Road after it failed to stop for police.
“It is clear the man shown in the footage was an innocent bystander and he was dearrested as soon as this was established by officers at the scene.
“All officers know any use of force must be proportionate and reasonable and they understand their actions will be scrutinised.
“A complaint has been received in relation to his arrest.
“This is currently being assessed by officers from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS), along with other material including the officers’ body worn video footage.
“None of the officers involved are subject to restrictions at this time.”
