An MP has raised concerns after an autistic teenager was arrested after she said an officer “looked like her nanna who is a lesbian.”
West Yorkshire Police have received a complaint after the mother said her autistic teenage daughter was arrested for saying a female officer "looked like her nanna who is a lesbian,” referring to the girl’s grandmother.
This resulted in the girl being “arrested on suspicion of a homophobic public order offence.”
Police said that the footage only “provides a very limited snapshot of the circumstances of this incident.”
In an update late Friday, a police spokesman told The Epoch Times by email that the criminal investigation had been dropped and the girl had been released from her bail.
‘She’s Going to Be Arrested’
The video shows two officers in the hallway of the family’s home, while the girl sits in a corner, hiding inside a cupboard.A female officer with short blonde hair can be heard saying “she’s going to be arrested.”
The girl’s mother says, “She’s made a comment in her own house, she hasn’t said anything to you.”
The mother then says that the teenager is autistic, and the officer responds, “I don’t care.”
A male officer says the girl has aimed “homophobic remarks at my colleague.”
The mother is heard saying, “It’s not a homophobic remark, she said ‘I think she’s a lesbian, like my nanna.'”
She later says: “You’re going to remove her for what, you’re bothered she said the word lesbian? Her nanna is a lesbian, she’s married to a woman. She’s not homophobic.”
As more officers arrive, the girl is seen screaming as she is taken away, as the female officer with short blonde hair looks on.
Public Order Offence in a Private Dwelling
Labour MP Kate Osborne, a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Autism, said the incident has to be “investigated fully.”“As an LGBTQ MP I’ve experienced verbal & homophobic abuse & believe these cases must be taken seriously but on the face of this footage it does seem the police response lacked empathy and was not proportionate,” she wrote on Twitter.
“I hope this incident is investigated fully and the young woman is okay,” she added.
Some have commented on how an observation expressed in a private home can become a matter of public order.
“You cannot commit a public order offence in a private dwelling. You cannot. It’s not possible,” Harry Miller from the organisation Fair Cop told The Epoch Times.
Fair Cop was set up in response to what it calls “Big Brother” overreach of various police forces and other authorities in England.
Commenting on the police’s conduct, Mr. Miller said that the officers had “more in common with an organised crime gang than they do with the police.”
‘Active Criminal Investigation’
Mr. Khan told The Epoch Times by email on Thursday: “We are aware of a video circulating on social media which, as is often the case, only provides a very limited snapshot of the circumstances of this incident.“Officers had their body-worn video cameras activated during their wider involvement with this young girl which provides additional context to their actions.
“We have received a complaint in relation to this incident which is currently being assessed by West Yorkshire Professional Standards Directorate.
“While that ongoing process and the active criminal investigation limit our ability to fully discuss the incident in detail, we feel it is important for people to have some context about the circumstances.”
Mr. Khan said that from 12:12 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 7, police received calls from a family member of a 16-year-old girl who was reportedly intoxicated and putting herself at risk in Leeds city centre.
He added that officers attended at about 1 a.m. and drove the teenager to her home so “she could be appropriately looked after.”
“Upon returning her to the address, comments were made which resulted in the girl being arrested on suspicion of a homophobic public order offence. The nature of the comments made was fully captured on body-worn video.”
Mr. Khan said that when the girl “was eventually fit to be interviewed, that interview took place with an appropriate adult” and that she was later released on bail pending further enquiries and advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.
“West Yorkshire Police takes its responsibilities around the welfare of young people taken into custody and around neurodiversity very seriously.
“We also maintain that our officers and staff should not have to face abuse while working to keep our communities safe.
“We are fully reviewing the circumstances of this incident and ask that people avoid reaching any conclusions about it solely on the basis of the social media video.”
