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Young disabled Pakistani man tasered & assaulted by police on New Year's Eve

Justice for Habib 'Paps' Ullah | 06.01.2012 12:50 | Anti-racism | Policing | Birmingham

Shocket Aslam was stopped by the police after leaving a petrol station on the M6 without paying for £20 worth of petrol. During this, despite being disabled and being in a wheelchair he was attacked by a number of officers with batons/koshes and tasered and was subsequently denied medical treatment when he was held at a police station to Stafford. He had gone to Manchester from High Wycombe with a friend to pick up a car.



On the 31st of December 2011 Shocket Aslam was driving on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire when 3-5 police vehicles together with a helicopter apprehended him after he had left a petrol station without paying. As soon as he saw the police coming he stopped his vehicle on the hard shoulder and as officers approached aggressively and asked him to put his hands up and get out of the car he confirmed that he was disabled. Two officers had tasers aimed at him in the driver side and on the passenger side as well, and a police officer on his side smashed the window and repeatedly hit with him a kosh. He protested and again tried to explain that he was disabled and it was hard for him to get it out but he was then tasered from behind in the shoulder and dragged out of the car by 5/6 officers. Two of these were trying to pull his arms around his back and his face was held on the floor. One officer saw the wheelchair and stated this to the other officers but they continued to hoist him out and dragged him along the ground and threw head first into a police car. When Shocket asked for help and water he was sworn at violently by the officers and wished happy New Year by them! He was shaking and shivering at this time and couldn’t speak properly after being tasered. He asked to be taken to hospital and for some water but was again refused and was even threatened with a taser again. He was taken to Watling Police station in Stafford and was held overnight in an interview room (not a cell) and no medical treatment was given and his requests for his medication for his condition which was in the car were ignored. His requests for a cushion to support himself as he suffers from bedsores was also ignored. He was bleeding from a cut in his forehead and his nose yet he was only given a tissue to stop this. He was still shivering and in shock and asked for a blanket but was only given a jumper to wear. He was interviewed by the police at 2pm approximately the next day and despite being charged with driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent (he had come back from Manchester in two vehicles – with the friend driving the new one and Shocket driving his) the police did not contact his friend to verify the situation. He was subsequently released at 3pm on the 1st of January 2012.

The Justice for Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah campaign together with Shocket and his family would like to know the following:

1. Why excessive force was used and why was he tasered when he stopped his
vehicle, co-operated and offered no resistance?
2. Why his disability (he is a wheelchair user and has no use of his legs at all)
was not taken account in how the police handled him?
3. Why medical treatment was withheld (especially after use of a taser) and no
help given to him immediately after he sustained his injuries at the hands of
the police and overnight in the custody of Staffordshire Police?

The Justice for Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah campaign was set up in July 2008 after the death of Habib during a routine stop and search in a car park in High Wycombe 2008. So far the campaign in partnership with family members have organised six vigils in the town centre/Police station, a demonstration through the town, three public meetings, and attended national and regional demonstrations against deaths in custody. Additionally we have set up a public website with the support of the Family Web Pages Collective and a successful Facebook page.

Further information:

Zia Ullah
Family contact
07869360377

Saqib Deshmukh
Volunteer information worker
07766464358

Justice for Habib 'Paps' Ullah
- e-mail: justiceforpaps@aim.com
- Homepage: http://justice4paps.wordpress.com/

Comments

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might want to consider re-wording this article

06.01.2012 13:10

I stopped reading after this bit:

Shocket Aslam was stopped by the police after leaving a petrol station on the M6 without paying for £20 worth of petrol.

anon


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Just a thought

06.01.2012 14:05

Here's a radical plan for all those who fear they may be next



Pay for what you take from others and don't steal it.

Man who pays for what he uses


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Campaign

06.01.2012 14:52

To compliment the 'Justice for Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah campaign I am starting a 'Justice for the petrol station owner' campaign who has to deal with little toe rags who steal from them.

On a positive note the little scrotal will think before nicking stuff next time.

Interested


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you smug commenters

06.01.2012 15:17

so if you fail to give 20 quid to multinational oil firms that screw this planet and its people for all they can get and treat their workers like shit then you deserve to be tasered?

trolls.

NOT a troll


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jeeez

06.01.2012 15:34

Stop making excuses for police violence. The theft of £20 worth of petrol doesn't justify unprovoked brutality.

To call these cops psychopaths would be an insult to all those with psychopathic mental health issues who manage to avoid violent outbursts!

"Here's a radical plan for all those who fear they may be next:
Pay for what you take from others and don't steal it."

If you think that's enough to prevent a police attack you must have led a relatively sheltered and obedient life. And probably have white skin.

'


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Stop making excuses for police violence

06.01.2012 15:52

Stop making excuses for thieves.

If the little bastard hadn't stolen he would not have had a Tazering would he ?

Fuck me it's pretty simple to understand.

It's all relative


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The other victim

06.01.2012 16:45

Anybody consider that the owner of the petrol station (small independent businessman) was the loser not some big oil company and that the pump attendants often get 'drive off's' stopped from their money.

Failure to pay is a major problem is some areas with stations going out of business because the losses have been so high. The police are under a lot of pressure to crack down on it.

Someone else


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victim

06.01.2012 18:56

no doubt if the victim was white it would not be on this site,

anon


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poor motive

06.01.2012 23:10

He stole from a business (ie. a person trying to make an honest living to feed his family). Thats £20 that the garage owner has to pay out of his own money rather than pay for food for his kids.

His excuse?
"He had gone to Manchester from High Wycombe with a friend to pick up a car."

So, he stole £20 but can afford to get a car? So the motive is purely monetary gain.
This isn't really working into his favour of who's story we trust

keep it real


The risks people will take to obtain petrol...

07.01.2012 09:39

Recognisable theft of four hours "worth" of influence tickets; Perpetrator complying to police challenge, offering no resistance?

Response ? Assault with batons, and insertion of potentially lethal high voltage [into a petrol laced situation]. Subject then receives further abuse of basic human rights before facts are established?

Non proportionate response.

Eco nomer


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@'keep it real'

07.01.2012 14:09

I don't care if he stole a million fucking quid, no-one deserves that kind of treatment. You prick.

anon


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I wouldn't have done that

07.01.2012 20:51

I would have paid for the £20 of petrol

anon


ACPO Policy states:

07.01.2012 22:07

-Tasers are to be deployed with Specially Trained Officers, where the authorising officer has reason to suppose that they, in the course of their duty, may have to protect the public, themselves and /or the subject(s) at incidents of violence or threats of violence of such severity that they will need to use force.

-Once deployment as a Taser option has been authorised, to conflict management situations, usual supervision will apply and the individual officer's usage must be justifiable and compliant with all exisiting legislation and associated ACPO/Service guidelines.

TASERS: ACPO Extended Operational Deployment and use of Taser by Specially Trained Units (Excluding Firearms Incidents), Version 4 (December 2008) (PDF)
 http://www.acpo.police.uk/ProfessionalPractice/UniformedOperations.aspx

So, the issue is not that petrol was taken without payment, but that in the situation described there is no justification for using a taser.

How hard to understand is that?

Sir Hugh Order


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