Pregnant arrest row woman 'angry' over apology to police

Lynnette Wallace, who is battling cancer, said she resents the apology given to officers

A woman who was stripped to the waist and handcuffed for 11 hours while pregnant is "angry" two police officers involved have had an apology.

Lynnette Wallace went into early labour after being held in Nottingham in 2011.

While three officers were disciplined and Ms Wallace received an apology and damages, the case against two other officers only ended in May 2017.

The police watchdog admitted its handling of their case was "unacceptable".

Ms Wallace, 48, who has cancer, only resolved her own legal case against the the watchdog last year.

'Feels like I didn't matter'

She said: "This leaves me angry. It happened to me, I should be getting the apologies."

The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, lodged a complaint on behalf of the two officers.

It said their lives had been "blighted" by delays in the case - something which angered Ms Wallace.

"Yes this has gone on a long time but it has gone on a long time for me too," she said.

"They have still got everything and they are still working.

"It feels like what happened to me almost didn't matter."

Lynette Wallace was judged to be at risk of self harm when placed in custody

In 2011 Ms Wallace was arrested at 30 weeks pregnant and taken into custody at Bridewell police station.

She was assessed as being at risk of self-harming and stripped to the waist. She was left handcuffed for 11 hours.

Two days later, she gave birth prematurely. Charges against her were later dropped.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) began an investigation into her treatment.

Three officers were disciplined for their part in Lynnette Wallace's detention

In 2013, Nottinghamshire Police found an inspector and two sergeants guilty of gross misconduct. The force publicly apologised to Ms Wallace in 2016 and settled a claim for damages.

In May 2017, a misconduct hearing against two PCs was dropped due to delays in the IPCC investigation.

After this, the federation lodged its complaint on their behalf, but a further delay was caused when the IOPC replaced the IPCC in January 2018.

The results of the complaint have just been released.

IOPC deputy director general Ian Todd said: "In February I met with the two officers in Nottinghamshire to apologise in person for an at times unacceptable standard of investigation, for our contribution to delays in this case, and not keeping them regularly updated during its course.

"I do not underestimate the stress that these delays undoubtedly caused the officers. I am committed to ensuring that we have learned from this investigation so that similar situations do not arise in the future."

Phill Matthews, from the Police Federation, said: "We are disappointed that it has taken nearly a full year to resolve the complaints, bearing in mind that such lengthy delays were part of the original problem, but pleased that the IOPC have now upheld our complaint against it and apologised to both the officers, admitting that its performance was not acceptable."