Bedfordshire Police refers itself to watchdog after man in 80s arrestedon September 5, 2022 at 8:51 am

Bedfordshire Police has referred itself to the police watchdog after a man in his 80s was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

The force said officers attended reports of a disturbance in Potton at about 05:00 BST on Friday and mistakenly went to the wrong address.

In a series of tweets the force said there was an altercation with a woman holding a “wooden implement”.

A man in his 80s has since been released under investigation.

The force said in their tweets they were approached by a resident holding a wooden implement as they walked away from the property.

They called for back up and “several other units arrived” but before they did there was an “altercation”.

One of the officers had been trying to take the implement from a woman when she “sustained a cut to her face”, it said.

“A man in his 80s was arrested on suspicion of assault on an emergency worker,” the force said on Twitter.

He has since been released under investigation while police assess the evidence.

Det Ch Supt Julie Henderson, from Bedfordshire Police, said: “We understand the concerns regarding this incident and are carrying out our own internal review.

“We have also voluntarily referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for full openness and transparency and to ascertain if there is any learning to be taken forward.

“Over the coming days the welfare of all those involved will be our primary concern.”

The force later tweeted to clarify what was meant by the term “wooden implement”, saying: “This was not a walking stick: we are describing it as something similar in size and shape to a rounders bat.

“It isn’t a rounders bat, but is a wooden stick of that sort of size and shape.”

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