Met Police officer’s conviction over assault of woman on bus quashed

A Metropolitan Police officer who was fined £1,500 for assault after wrongly arresting a woman for bus fare evasion has had his conviction quashed.

Pc Perry Lathwood had been convicted of the common assault of a woman who had been travelling on a bus in Croydon, south London, in June 2023.

The trial of the officer, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, was told that he grabbed the woman by the arm, causing bruising injuries during the arrest.

He was convicted on May 17 of this year and was aged 50 at the time of his sentencing in June.

Mr Lathwood, attached to the Metropolitan Police’s Road Traffic Policing Command, appealed against the conviction and it was quashed at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said.

A video of the incident was shared online, attracting significant public interest, police said.

“The impact it had, particularly on black communities in Croydon and further afield, was significant.

“However, Pc Lathwood has now been cleared by the criminal courts and that decision must be respected.

“We accept this incident was not handled perfectly and there is valuable learning to be taken from it.

“However, we believe that could have been done through police misconduct mechanisms, not the courts.

“Officers do not shy away from scrutiny and recognise the importance of independent oversight.

Mr Lathwood remains on restricted duties pending the outcome of the misconduct process.

Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram, who had sentenced the officer, said at the time that Mr Lathwood had “crossed the line and got it wrong” but “it was not through bad faith”.

“In my judgment he made a momentary error of judgment as it were in the heat of the moment,” he said.

Jocelyn Agyemang had told the court that Mr Lathwood, of East Sussex, “manhandled me in circumstances where it was not warranted”, called her a “daft cow” and had a “look of contempt in his eyes”.

Police officers were helping ticket inspectors on a bus in Croydon at the time.

After she and her son disembarked the bus at about 11am, she was asked to show she had paid her fare by a bus inspector.

Another officer took her Oyster card and went away with it to see if she had paid, and Ms Agyemang was de-arrested at the scene after it was confirmed she had paid her fare.

Rick Prior, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said he was pleased “justice has been done”, describing the original conviction as “erroneous and perverse”.

“Pc Perry Lathwood walks away from the court today with his reputation restored and without a blemish on his character,” he said.

“It has always been my view – and that of the Metropolitan Police Federation – that PC Lathwood had done nothing wrong on July 21, 2023 whilst working on a TFL Revenue Protection operation.

“Indeed, having reviewed all of the body-worn video, it was also the informed view of the Metropolitan Police’s Senior Command that there was certainly no criminality.

“It is my view that this is yet another Independent Office for Police Conduct led, politically motivated witch-hunt against a decent, honest, and diligent police officer who was simply doing his job.”