When Andrew Carter saw a police van driving in reverse up the wrong way of a one-way street, he did what any photographer would do.
He photographed the incident. Then he tried to photograph the officer in the driver’s seat.
And then he wound up in jail for five hours.
His charges: assaulting a police officer with a camera, resisting arrest and drunk and disorderly conduct.
But it was the officer, Aqil Farooq, who told Carter to “fuck off”.
‘I was nearly knocked down once so when the police van did it I sort of said, “Hey mate no entry” but he just shouted out the window, “F*** off, this is police business”.
‘But when I took a photo of them he came running out, battered the camera from my hand on to the floor and arrested me for three crimes, none of which I’d committed.’
Carter was eventually released and the charges dropped. And the officer apologized to him in a tribunal meeting.
Now Carter is seeking compensation from the police department.