Met 'to pay London man 1million for harassment'

THE METROPOLITAN Police is set to pay up to 1million compensation to a London man after an internal investigation found he had been harassed by officers, it is reported today.

Delroy Lindo is suing the Met after being stopped 37 times by officers and charged with 17 offences since 1992 but never once convicted. On one occasion he was arrested for sucking his teeth in an aggressive manner.

Ten senior officers, including the Met's deputy commissioner Ian Blair, have concluded that the dossier leaves the force "incredibly vulnerable" to litigation because it highlights "negative stereotyping" of Mr Lindo, who is black, and his wife Sonia by officers in Hornsey. The police inquiry was led by the Met's most senior detective from an ethnic minority, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur. A police spokesman said: "The findings do not level criticisms at any individual officers but have identified a number of corporate, policy and practical failings."

Mr Lindo's case has already caused a rift among senior officers.

Some are angry that none of the 47 officers involved were interviewed during the inquiry. One unnamed senior police source told the Independent newspaper some high-ranking officers are "incensed" and believe Mr Ghaffur was "naive".

Mr Lindo has launched five civil suits against the Met. He has described being arrested for sucking his teeth in an aggressive manner, driving with a dirty number plate and carrying a copy of the Observer newspaper.

With a team of 16 officers, Mr Ghaffur was asked to investigate the claims and whether Mr Lindo's support for Winston Silcott, who was acquitted of murdering Pc Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm riots, was a significant factor.

In his summary Mr Ghaffur said there was "no evidence of an organised conspiracy" to harass Mr Lindo and ruled out racial discrimination. But it added: "There was evidence that harassment was taking place because of negative stereotyping of the Lindo family. This has been caused by police officers in Hornsey focusing on the fact that Mr Lindo has spent convictions."

The report also said the Lindos were "partly instrumental in creating a spiral of deteriorating relationships. At times [they] exhibited extremes of behaviour that led to overreaction of the police".

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