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A woman is suing police in the UK after claiming that she was wrongfully arrested and that she was strip searched following the arrest.
It all started when IT consultant Juliet Johnson went shopping in Waitrose on February 25 of this year without a mask. At the time, England was closed and face masks were mandatory in stores, unless people had a medical reason not to wear them.
According to the Metro, Ms Johnson says she proved that she didn’t have to wear a mask on a previous visit to the store and showed three pieces of evidence, including her NHS exception card, as she is in discomfort from an autoimmune disease that affects her breathing.
However, police were called to the store in Chichester, West Sussex, after the store manager rang them. Ms Johnson says she was confronted by two officers while shopping and was later arrested, taken to a nearby police station, questioned and strip searched.
After two hours of detention, the 55-yr-old was released the same day without charge.
Police have denied any wrongdoing, but said they could not provide further details as the case is still pending. The shopper says she wasn’t abusive or rude to anyone in the store, but Waitrose and John Lewis have since banned her from shopping at their store.
Ms Johsnon is now suing the police for wrongful arrest, wrongful detention, assault and discrimination on the basis of disability.
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