Lung cancer patient who accused police officer of assault agreed out-of-court settlement

David Billien had started legal action against the officer, claiming damages as a result of the incident, widely circulated on social media, in which he said he was pulled out of his car and pinned to the ground.

In the claim, Mr Billien said he was pulled over by the officer and accused of not wearing a seat belt.

But Mr Billien has a habit of wearing his belt under his arm rather than over his shoulder: ‘I’ve always done it like that,’ he said.

Mr Billien later appeared in the Magistrate’s Court for failing to wear a seat belt and was fined £120.

His claim of assault stemmed from what happened after he was stopped by a police officer.

Body-worn camera footage of the incident was later shared on social media and the officer could be heard accusing Mr Billien of only just putting the belt on, which is denied.

Mr Billien refused to give his name and address and the footage showed the officer opening the car door, taking the keys from the ignition and throwing them away. He took a lit cigarette from Mr Billien’s hand and stubbed it out on the car’s steering column before pulling Mr Billien from the car and taking him to the ground, while he protested that he had cancer.

It was claimed that as a result of the officer’s actions, Mr Billien suffered tarmac burns and bruises to his wrist, arms and back.

There was also a claim of ‘deep fear and distress’ from the sudden and violent nature of the incident, which he claimed had a serious emotional impact on him and his daughter, who was a front seat passenger.

Minor damage was caused to the car by the cigarette being put out on the steering column and from where it fell into the foot well and continued to smoulder.

Mr Billien claimed £900 in damages.

He said that the claim was settled out of court with the officer not accepting any liability, and that he received a cheque for the amount he claimed.

‘My daughter has just had a baby so I’m going to get her a whack of baby clothes,’ he said.

Other damages claims against the police in relation to officers’ conduct have proceeded to court in recent months and have not succeeded. Some are still pending,