Man sues police for wrongful arrest and assault

A DAD of four, who was mistakenly arrested on suspicion of stealing a car and misusing its owner’s bank card, is suing South Wales Police, alleging he was forced to have surgery on the injuries he was left with.

A DAD of four, who was mistakenly arrested on suspicion of stealing a car and misusing its owner’s bank card, is suing South Wales Police, alleging he was forced to have surgery on the injuries he was left with.

John Sultana, 48, who lives in McCale Avenue, Fairwater, Cardiff, with his partner and children, was arrested while on a Sunday afternoon shopping trip to Culverhouse Cross on the outskirts of Cardiff.

At the time a police officer and a number of PCSOs were involved in a crime reduction exercise at the shopping centre.

The police officer spotted Mr Sultana near a cashpoint and concluded that he may have been involved in an incident three weeks earlier, when a car was stolen and its owner’s bank card used to withdraw money from the same cashpoint.

Part of the incident was recorded on a mobile phone. Mr Sultana can be heard protesting – though without using offensive language – that he had done nothing wrong. Police reinforcements were called to the scene.

Mr Sultana claims he was forcibly handcuffed and that an officer pressed down with his boot on the handcuffs, causing severe pain and injuries to his arms.

He was taken to Barry Police Station and later released without charge.

A report from consultant orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Rogers said that injuries to Mr Sultana’s arms “seem to be consistent with having had handcuffs applied to the wrists and this consisted of bruising around the wrists such that initially fractures were suspected of the wrists, but subsequently a CT scan taken of the wrists excluded any fractures”.

Mr Rogers’ report continued: “He did, however, appear to have significant pain and discomfort in the wrists and also evidence of an injury to the superficial radial nerve of his right wrist.

“This is a sensory nerve that supplies the back and thumb side of the hand and would be prone to injury, particularly when rigid handcuffs are applied to the wrist and twisted or pressure applied.”

The report said Mr Sultana’s injuries significantly affected his employment and leisure activities.

Mr Sultana said: “After a period of unemployment I was trying at the time of my arrest to work as a scrap metal dealer, but the injuries have made it impossible to carry anything that is heavy.

“One of the worst aspects of what has happened is that it can be very painful to play with my young children, even two and a half years after the incident at Culverhouse Cross. They like to climb on me and it is heartbreaking not to be able to play with them properly.

“I have been a criminal in the past but in recent years have gone straight. I understand that the police have a duty to check things out, but on this occasion what happened was not right.

“I have had to have three operations but my arms still hurt. I was a victim of mistaken identity, which the police have accepted.”

Mr Sultana has issued proceedings against South Wales Police for unlawful arrest and assault. South Wales Police director of legal services Gareth Madge said: “We are currently defending civil proceedings in the county court brought by Mr Sultana for alleged unlawful arrest and assault. “The proceedings are ongoing and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment any further at this stage.”

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