Handcuffed after hitting a tree and airbags deployed. Is this correct protocol

[Angellookingoverme]

Hi, my daughter had a crash and ended up crashing into a tree. Her friend was in the passenger seat. She must have been knocked out as when she woke, she thought the car was on fire. She managed to wake her friend. The airbags had deployed, they could not open the doors or window. They managed to climb in the back and managed to open the window half way. My daughter climbed through and her friend pushed her from behind. Her friend then climbed through with my daughter pulling her out. They were in woods and managed to soldier crawl to the road side. Her right ankle was broken, her left badly sprained. Her right thumb was severed by the tendon and her left arm badly sprained. Luckily a couple seen the hazard lights in the bushes and stopped. They rang emergency services and the police turned up. They immediately handcuffed my daughter and breathalysed her. We arrived at accident just to be stopped as the police blocked the road. We were informed our daughter was fine as she had walked away from the car. We were not allowed to see her, the ambulance was called after 40 minutes. We got told she was being taken to the Police station and we would not be able to see her. We left and went to the hospital, my daughter arrived in the ambulance and had a neck brace on, she was severely bruised due to the seat belt. The police had 4 officers outside her room. She was charged with failure to give a sample. She could not urinate and later had a cathather fitted. She was told not to move her head as she needed a CT scan. The officer was questioning her and I had to put my hand on her forehead to stop her moving, the nurse was saying she needed her scan to rule out spinal injuries. I think she was treated terribly and if she had suffered spinal injuries, their actions could have paralysed her.

 

[Martin Hammond]

Firstly, in response to your question, the police are able to handcuff a person suspected of committing an offence. The officers have to assess the risk of the individual and determine whether it is reasonable, necessary and a proportionate use of force. The officers consider factors including whether there is any risk of the individual fleeing from the scene or possibly becoming violent towards the officers or members of the public.



More importantly, If you feel aggrieved by the way in which your daughter has been treated, and given the circumstance this definitely seems understandable, you should contact the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to raise a complaint. They are very good with these things and a lot of my previous clients have had success when going down this route.



If you have any questions in relation to the charge of failing to provide a specimen and the procedure which was undertaken at the hospital, please do not hesitate to contact us as I would be happy to advise you.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

 

[Angellookingoverme]

Hi Martin
Thanks for your response, my daughter is 28 and is lucky to be alive. She told the Officer she could not feel her legs and her chest was hurting her, she had no shoes on and her both wrists were injured, her right thumb was touching her wrist so they could see she did not need to be handcuffed. She had to keep asking for an ambulance. She had an operation on her right thumb to have the tendon reattached and has permanent screws in her right ankle. She had bruised lungs and seat belt syndrome. We were told she was being taken to the Station but the Paramedics took her to the hospital. She could not remember me being with her. When I seen the car I fainted. The shape of the tree was indented into the bonnet and was half way into it.

 

[Martin Hammond]

You both have my sympathies. That sounds terrible.