An actor has claimed he was the victim of “police misconduct” after allegedly being pepper sprayed in an “unlawful arrest”.
Reece Richards, who appeared in the hit Netflix series Sex Education and is currently touring in Hairspray The Musical, said he was thrown to the ground during a police chase on 4 September following a performance of the stage show in Fulham, southwest London.
He said the incident made it “painfully clear that racial profiling remains a significant issue”.
Responding to a post and footage shared on social media, the Met Police said officers had been pursuing three men who ran from a car that crashed after failing to stop for police.
Officers “often find themselves in dynamic, challenging situations and have to make split-second judgments on which course of action to take”, the force said, adding that a complaint was currently being assessed, along with other material including police bodycams.
“The man shown in the footage was de-arrested as soon as it was established by officers at the scene that he was not involved,” the force’s statement said.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the police watchdog for England and Wales, said it had also been made aware of the complaint and had contacted the Met Police to discuss whether they should investigate further.
Brenda Edwards, Loose Women star and director of Hairspray The Musical, shared a statement on Instagram which was also posted by the production’s official account, saying: “We stand in full support and solidarity with Reece Richards, a valued member of our cast who was wrongfully targeted by the Met Police whilst making his way home after a performance of Hairspray The Musical.
“We strongly condemn any form of racism and discrimination.”
