THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 6 2017 Like us on Facebook


facebook.com/thellanelliherald


5 News Man lodges complaint aſter losing three fingers


Police: Outside the cell (Pic. Wales News Service)


begging the officers to open the door but no one helped me. "The time I was stuck felt like years but really it was only seconds. "I have never known fear and pain


like it." Jamie was accused of attempting


to assault PC Christopher Burton following his arrest in June in Llanelli. Magistrates heard he tried to bite


PC Burton while he and other officers attempted to get him into a police van and later taken to Llanelli Police Station. It was once he was in custody that


Jamie suffered severe injuries when his hand was trapped in the hinge of a cell door.


A DECORATOR has won a


legal battle to seize video footage of his fingers being chopped off in a cell door at a Dyfed-Powys Police station.


Jamie Clark, 28, lost three fingers


when he had his hand shut in a police cell door after being wrongly accused of assaulting a police officer. Self-employed painter Jamie was


cleared of the assault - and has won a legal fight to get the footage of the horrifying moment his fingers were severed in the cell door. He has now given the video footage to the police complaints watchdog in a


formal complaint over his treatment. Dad-of-one Jamie told how he was


arrested after a row with his girlfriend - and the domestic row ended with him being disabled for life. He said: "A neighbour called the


police. I didn't want to go but I was arrested and taken to the police station. "I was pepper sprayed, stripped


naked and bundled into a cell by half a dozen officers. "I went to get out but that's when


I felt this huge pain and felt my flesh being torn away when the door was shut.


"I was screaming in agony. I was Prosecutor Dennis Davies said:


"As officers left the cell the defendant had his fingers trapped in the door of the cell which resulted in him losing the top of three fingers." But Jamie was cleared in court


after his solicitor fought to obtain a copy of the CCTV from police. The video shows him naked


running at the cell door as it was being closed. The court heard PC Burton found a piece of the his finger in the hall.


His solicitor, Patrick Llewelyn,


said: "He was arrested for an offence he wasn't prosecuted for and while


Looking for justice: He’s providing the video footage to the IPCC (Pic. Wales News Service)


being detained he suffered serious injuries which will be the subject of a complaint or civil claim. "People expect to be treated fairly when they are dealing with the police. "We have seen evidence which


suggests the police, on this occasion, deviated from the highest standards of practice." Jamie, of Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, is now suing police for the loss of his fingers. A Dyfed-Powys


Police


spokeswoman said: "We can confirm an incident occurred on the night of Monday, June 20, whereby a male


required hospital treatment after suffering an injury while in custody. "The matter has been referred to


the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time." A spokesman for the IPCC said:


"We are independently investigating how a man sustained a serious hand injury in custody in Llanelli on June 20.


"Investigators have reviewed


CCTV footage and are assessing statements from officers. The IPCC investigation follows a referral from Dyfed-Powys Police and is ongoing."


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12