A musician is suing South Wales Police after plain-clothes officers allegedly punched him in the face without provocation before falsely imprisoning him. The first hearing in the case brought by rock singer-songwriter James Kennedy is due to take place next month.
The 46-year-old alleges he was assaulted by three men he did not know to be police officers while he was driving home to Aberdare on the night of November 23, 2022, having just played a gig at Brewhouse in Cardiff city centre.
His usual route was blocked due to flooding so he pulled over in Alfreda Road, Whitchurch, at around 9.10pm and picked up his phone to let his partner know he would be late home, he claims.
Alleged assault details
There is, according to the singer's legal team, no police bodycam footage of what happened next. But Mr Kennedy's account is detailed by his barrister Christian Weaver in a court filing.
It alleges: "While [Mr Kennedy] was stationary in his vehicle three men – at that time unknown to him but later identified as plain-clothed police officers – at significant speed opened both the driver’s and passenger’s doors without his consent."
One officer opened the passenger door and seized Mr Kennedy’s left arm while two other officers opened the driver door, seized his right hand, and took his car keys, it is alleged.
"The officers were wearing black civilian clothing and two were wearing hooded tops meaning their whole faces could not be seen," the claim goes on.
"Mr Kennedy was significantly restricted at this point being sat down, with a steering wheel in front of him, with a seatbelt across his body, and with both of his arms restrained by officers."
The filing accuses two officers, PC Parker and PC Byrne, of bending his arms behind his seat. At this time he still did not know they were policemen and believed he was being robbed, he alleges.
Mr Kennedy alleges he pleaded with the men: "Take my wallet, take whatever you want, but please don’t take my phone."
The claim continues: "His phone had on it his last memories of his father who had passed away earlier in the year."
Mr Kennedy was still clutching his phone in his left hand despite his left arm being bent around the back of the driver’s seat by the officer in the passenger seat. This officer punched him on the side of the face causing him to drop his phone, which the officer picked up.
The filing accuses PC Byrne of looking through the phone without lawful authority. Mr Kennedy started screaming for help and only then did one of the officers state they were police, it is alleged.
"The officer holding his right arm told him that if he did not calm down he would be tasered," the filing alleges. "Mr Kennedy continued screaming whilst the officer on the right applied a handcuff to his right wrist. He believes that the man on the left punched him further times at this point."
Strip-search and release
Mr Kennedy's hands were cuffed and he was placed in the back of a vehicle that had no police markings. The officers told him he was being taken to be strip-searched for possession of drugs. This was the first point upon which any indication had been given as to why officers were interacting with him.
Mr Kennedy alleges he was subjected to a "humiliating" strip-search on arrival at Fairwater police station. No illegal items were found, he claims.
After around an hour of being "falsely imprisoned", he alleges, Mr Kennedy was released from police custody.
"He was not given any apology as he was leaving the police station nor any paperwork," the claim reads. "Furthermore one officer joked to him that he ‘must have taken a good five punches’."
Impact and legal action
The filing states Mr Kennedy suffered facial swelling from the alleged punches and a soft tissue injury to the wrist which prevented him playing the guitar and led to five shows being cancelled. He has also been diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as a result of the incident, according to the claim, which seeks "aggravated and exemplary damages".
It accuses the officers of assaulting Mr Kennedy while he was offering no resistance and already restrained by a seatbelt with both arms being held by officers. "Despite the serious nature of the police actions the incident was not recorded on body-worn video in breach of force policy," claims the Central London county court filing.
South Wales Police said it would not comment on "an ongoing legal matter". The force previously told us it was investigating allegations about a "stop-search" in Whitchurch and treating them "extremely seriously".
Mr Kennedy told WalesOnline: "The incident has had a profound effect on my life for several years now and I believe it's important that the police are held accountable for such actions against innocent members of the public if we are to maintain faith in the force."
In 2022, when Mr Kennedy first made a complaint to police, he said: "The physical injuries are nothing compared to the mental and emotional trauma of the experience... I have been unable to shake off the feelings of absolute terror that I felt when I was being restrained in my car. I am deeply, deeply unhappy with how the situation was executed. I was 100% innocent and doing nothing more than sitting in my car."
To be physically restrained, punched, threatened with being tasered, and being forcefully subdued by the very people I trust to protect me will leave a long-lasting dislike and distrust of the police. I’m too scared to go out in my car, I keep checking my front door is locked, and I’m jumping at the slightest sound.
He added: "I have no problem being in the presence of police officers. As a live entertainer I am frequently stopped by police officers who have seen my car pulling out of music venues late at night on the reasonable suspicion of me being a drunk-driver. I have had many interactions of this nature and I'm always happy to politely comply. But that's because they're wearing a police uniform, not a hoodie and jeans, because they calmly approach my car, not descend upon me from both sides with force and punch me in the face."
