Tottenham striker Defoe to sue police over ‘unlawful’ arrest

TOTTENHAM - Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe is suing the police claiming that he was “unlawfully” stopped in his Range Rover and held for several hours at a police station in Harlow, Essex.The claim arises out of Defoe’s wrongful arrest for driving whilst disqualified last month,” The Sky News quoted Nick Freeman, Defoe’s solicitor, as saying.

“At the time the police were advised by Defoe, and on no less than five occasions by my office, that Defoe was not disqualified and that his detention was unlawful,” he added.

Freeman further said that Defoe had to face lots of trouble following his arrest and accused the police of misplacing his car.

“Instead, in addition to being locked in a cell, the police were unable to recall where his car had been impounded and were not prepared to return his car keys (which also contained house keys) until he produced documentation to his vehicle,” he added.

Freeman also said that the claim was not for money, but for principle and any damages awarded to Defoe would be donated to charity.

Meanwhile, Essex Police has apologised for the issue, and informed that an official investigation is being carried out to sort of the mistake.

“We’ve formally apologised, acknowledging our mistake, which was due to an inputting error. An internal investigation is under way to determine why this error occurred and to ensure that a similar mistake is not repeated in the future,” an Essex Police spokesman said. (ANI)