A police officer fined £1,500 for assault after wrongly arresting a woman for not paying a bus fare has had his conviction overturned.
PC Perry Lathwood, 50, had been convicted of assaulting her in front of her young son in Croydon on 21 July last year.
Jocelyn Agyemang was dropping the boy at her mother’s house at the time.
Metropolitan Police officers were helping ticket inspectors and after Ms Agyemang got off the bus, she was asked to show she had paid.
Ms Agyemang said she told the inspector to walk with her as she was in a hurry.
Mr Lathwood, from East Sussex, grabbed her arm to stop her and the trial was told he caused bruises during the arrest – which also saw her handcuffed.
A video of the incident was widely shared on social media at the time.
The footage was shown at the trial and recorded Ms Agyemang saying: “Can you get off me, please? Can you get off my arm? You don’t understand, I have done nothing wrong.”
Mr Lathwood kept holding her and demanded she tapped her Oyster card.
When another officer took the card and confirmed payment had been made, Ms Agyemang’s handcuffs were removed and she was de-arrested.
Mr Lathwood was convicted in May this year and sentenced in June.
The judge said he had “crossed the line and got it wrong” but “it was not through bad faith”.
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Ms Agyemang told court in an impact statement the incident was “deeply humiliating and embarrassing” and that Mr Lathwood had a “look of contempt in his eyes”.
She also said the officer called her a “daft cow”.
However, on Friday, Southwark Crown Court quashed Mr Lathwood’s conviction after he appealed.
He remains on restricted duties pending a misconduct process.
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Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said: “I recognise that this incident has divided opinions. The impact it had, particularly on black communities in Croydon and further afield, was significant.
“However, PC Lathwood has now been cleared by the criminal courts and that decision must be respected.
“We accept this incident was not handled perfectly and there is valuable learning to be taken from it.
“However we believe that could have been done through police misconduct mechanisms, not the courts.”
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