Police admit unlawful home entry and assault of couple

Published4 hours ago

A couple have been awarded £9,000 in damages after police admitted its officers unlawfully entered their home and assaulted them nearly four years ago.

Andrew and Sabrina Fearn had a house party in their home in December 2022. Earlier, Sabrina had called police and officers attended before leaving. They then returned, believing someone was injured inside and wanted access.

Sabrina refused, but officers forced entry and used physical force on her, according to legal documents. Andrew then stepped in before "unnecessary force" was used on him.

Both were arrested and charged with assaulting an emergency worker, but their trial was halted when police admitted the forced house entry was unlawful.

Andrew and Sabrina, from Alvaston in Derby, pursued a civil claim against the force, and the case has now been settled for £9,000, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

According to the legal claim submitted by the couple, a gathering at their home ended when they discovered one of the guests had a knife.

Sabrina called the police, which attended and then left shortly after.

But soon after, several officers returned wanting to gain entry, believing someone was injured inside and needed urgent medical attention.

Sabrina, 31, refused to let police in, saying the party had finished and no guests remained. She tried to stop police from entering her house, before officers forced entry and used physical force on her.

Andrew, 40, stepped in to protect his wife, fearing she was being hurt, before "unnecessary force" was used on him, according to the legal papers.

Extracts from police bodycam footage describes Andrew being held by the throat against a wall, while Sabrina was held by the neck as officers forced entry.

Andrew was warned he would be Tasered if he did not comply, was sprayed in the face with an incapacitant spray, handcuffed, taken away in a police van and held for 15 hours.

According to the LDRS, as the couple made physical contact with officers during the incident, both were arrested and charged with assaulting an emergency worker.

However, the pair were found not guilty in the middle of their trial, after police gave evidence to admit the forced entry to the home was unlawful.

'Held accountable'

Sabrina said: "It has caused an awful amount of stress. My mental health was so bad that whenever anyone came to my door, I would lock it.

"I've been terrified. I have awful PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder].

"If I entered someone's property unlawfully and harmed people, I would be done for assault. I would have a criminal record.

"Not one of those police officers have been held accountable for what they have done."

Sabrina and Andrew, who according to their lawyers were acquitted at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court in December 2023, then submitted a civil claim for damages over trespass, Andrew's unlawful arrest, and assault and battery on both parties - which Derbyshire Police accepted.

In a statement, the force apologised for the distress caused, and said officers had acted on a "honestly held belief" someone inside may have been injured, but later accepted the legal grounds for entering the property had not been met.

No disciplinary action was taken against the officers involved, the force added.

A spokesperson said: "We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the distress and harm that was caused by this incident.

"It was later found that, due to the time that elapsed between the initial call and officers entering, that the grounds under section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act were not met and that the entry, and all other matters following it, were unlawful.

"There were also claims, which were not accepted by the force, that the woman was unlawfully arrested, she was not handcuffed or detained at any point and the necessity for arrest was not met due to her suffering a medical episode, during which the officers provided immediate first aid.

"It was also not agreed that the man had suffered a dislocated shoulder during the incident. It was also not accepted that a malicious prosecution had taken place - or that officers were negligent.

"As a force, we always expect the highest possible standards of conduct from our officers and staff.

"However, they are also human and may make errors, as has occurred in this situation and we will always seek to learn from incidents to improve our response."

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