Black Firefighter Edric Kennedy-Macfoy Lodges Met's 10th Racism Complaint in Three Weeks

A black firefighter who claims police shot him with a Taser and assaulted him because of the colour of his skin has lodged a complaint over the way he was treated.

Edric Kennedy-Macfoy, 28, from north London has filed the 10<sup>th racism complaint against the Metropolitan Police in three weeks.

Kennedy-Macfoy also claims he was insulted and falsely arrested when he ran to the aid of six officers while they were dealing with a disturbance last year.

The off-duty firefighter claims he was driving through Harrow, northwest London, in the early hours of 4 September, 2011, when he saw a young adult throw a rock at a police van.

Also trained as a police constable, Kennedy-Macfoy noted the description of the youth and flagged down the van in effort to assist in the identification of the missile-thrower.

The officers acted like "wild animals" who insulted him, attacked him, arrested him and then Tasered him, he told the Independent Police Complaints Commission [IPCC].

The incident took place after officers had been to deal with an "all-black" group of youths at a party who threw missiles at the officers.

Insp David Bergum, who was at the scene, admitted that Kennedy-Macfoy was not at the party.

He said: "I couldn't say he was anything to do with the party. The party was all black. He was black. He had driven through the cordon. I had to do a quick risk assessment."

Kennedy-Macfoy said he would never have referred the case to the IPCC if the officers had simply apologised for the alleged incident.

"People make mistakes; you've got good cops and bad cops," he told the Guardian.

"People act differently under pressure. If at that point they had just said: 'Mate, so sorry - we have been dealing with this party and got it totally wrong,' I really wouldn't have pursued anything.

"I still would have been pissed off, but I would have accepted their apology and their acknowledgement that they had messed up."

The firefighter's solicitor, Shamik Dutta of Bhatt Murphy solicitors, said: "The question many people are bound to ask is why an off-duty firefighter, wearing a pinstriped suit and offering assistance to the police, should have been dragged from his car, shot with a Taser, locked up for many hours and then prosecuted for an offence he did not commit by the very officers he was trying to help.

"Our client now expects a comprehensive investigation which examines what role his race has had in the horrific events he has been forced to suffer."

Kennedy-Macfoy said he had been on the receiving end of ill-treatment from police officers before.

"I always get stopped by the police and it's always the same. [Officers say:] 'Oh, you know, loads of these cars get stolen, so we just need to check you are who you say you are, blah blah blah.' And I know it is because I'm black. My friend Vince, he's a fireman - he borrows my car sometimes and it's a running joke at the fire station - he's never been stopped."

Kennedy-Macfoy also works as an actor and model. His profile on StarNow.com claims he has featured in EastEnders twice and starred in Loick Essien's No 1 music video, How we Roll.