Call for calm following incident in Perry Barr custody suite

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Regional Director Derrick Campbell has called for calm following an incident in which it was alleged a Sikh man had a religious head covering forcibly removed while in the custody of West Midlands Police.

The IOPC is independently investigating the incident, which took place at Perry Barr custody suite on Monday afternoon and has received significant attention on social media.

A complaint was made to the force, and subsequently referred to the IOPC, regarding the man’s treatment and alleges officers’ actions towards him were racially motivated.

IOPC Regional Director Derrick Campbell said: “This incident has caused understandable unrest within the local community and I want to reassure everyone that this will be thoroughly and independently investigated.

“We are now in possession of all the CCTV footage from the custody suite, which I have viewed myself. Our investigation will look at the actions of police during the incident to determine the facts.

“What I can say with absolute certainty at this stage, in direct response to questions I have received from members of the local community, is that the head covering was not stamped on at any stage.

“A false video shared on social media has caused significant concern for many and I am appealing for calm while this is investigated. Rest assured we will be working hard to ensure the facts of what happened are brought to light and this matter is dealt with appropriately.”