An 84 year-old WWII veteran was riding his bike along the pavement in Sale, Greater Manchester when two Police Community Support Officers spotted him and promptly chased after him.
James Gresty - who served in Holland, France, Germany and Palestine during the Second World War - sought safety in the bank where he was going to collect his pension. The PCSOs decided to call for back-up and minutes later two regular officers arrived in a police van. The Daily Mail reports that Mr Gresty was ordered outside for a ‘ticking off’. He said:
“They were being aggressive, rude and heavy handed, all over an in issue of whether I was cycling on the pavement.
"I had got off my bike before I got on the pavement. God knows why four police officers had to be involved.
"And it's all rather galling that that their ‘back up’ drove across a pedestrianised area, which I think is far more dangerous than riding a bike across it.”
If the number of officers, the initial chase, or the illegal driving over the pedestrianised area to get him wasn't enough; Mr Gretsy was then issued with a £30 fixed penalty notice.
This is yet another case of unnecessary force being used when dealing with a trivial misdemeanour and a shocking waste of police time.
It was unreasonable to ride on the pavement, but surely a short word rather than this sort of heavy-handed, overbearing behaviour would suffice?