Care worker ‘kicked in the face’ by police who mistook him for a wanted man in Sheffield

Musa Usuf had recently finished fasting for Ramadan when he was confronted by police.

A CARE worker was subjected to a “violent assault” after police mistook him for another wanted man.

Musa Usuf, from Sheffield, visited a Tesco store on Savile Street in Burngreave at 10.45pm while on break from his work.

While in the car park, he was targeted by armed police and was kicked in the face during the confrontation on May 22 last year.

Musa, who was unarmed and has no criminal record, believes the force used against him was excessive. However, one year on, an internal review by South Yorkshire Police has ruled that ‘reasonable force’ was used.

“I suffered a violent assault at the Tesco supermarket car park on Saville Street, Sheffield, at the hands of South Yorkshire Armed Police,” Musa said. “I followed the instructions of the armed police and during the stop I was not resisting.

“Yet I was dragged and slammed to the floor from the passenger side of the car and was violently kicked twice – once to my upper body and once to the face which resulted in blood gushing from my face.”

He added: “After I was assaulted and placed in handcuffs I was pulled to my feet. During this whole process I wasn’t given any indication or information as to why I was in this position. I was scared for my life with several guns pointing at me.”

Once Musa had been detained, police officers took his details and found that they did not match with anybody they had a warrant for. Musa claims that police failed to adequately explain the situation to him despite repeatedly asking before letting him go. He later took himself to A&E to have his wounds treated, and filed a police complaint the next day.

It took up to a year for South Yorkshire Police to investigate his complaint and they reached a conclusion that the officer who detained him “complied with their responsibilities in law and there was no evidence of police misconduct”.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “On 22 May 2020, officers conducting a pre-planned operation in connection to a series of violent assaults using weapons stopped a vehicle matching the description of that used by the suspected offender in Saville Street, Sheffield.

“Following a thorough internal investigation into this matter, it was found that the officer involved had complied with their responsibilities in law and there was no evidence of police misconduct. We have been in touch with the man to explain this to him.”

Musa argues against the force’s internal review, and has requested bodycam footage of the incident where he says he was compliant with officers’ requests.

An IOPC spokesperson said: “We understand this must have been a very frightening experience for the complainant, who, due to a case of mistaken identity, found himself in this situation through no fault of his own. Our review of South Yorkshire Police’s investigation into his complaint looked at whether the force’s findings were reasonable and proportionate.

“This was an extremely unfortunate accident in a difficult situation and we acknowledge that the force has accepted the circumstances should have been explained to the complainant at the time.”

Musa says that he will continue to “fight for justice.”

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1 Comment

  1. | Lasharaq S

    Absolutely disgusting behaviour from people you expect should be there to protect life. Leave the punishment to the courts. Why the need for violence in the first place is beyond me. Keep fighting for your justice young man as it could easily have been anyone of us.

    Reply

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