Porthcawl disabled woman recalls trauma of night-time arrest
- Published
Ms Badman said the incident with the police left her traumatised
A disabled woman who says police officers barged into her home and arrested her in the early hours has received £40,000 in compensation.
Louise Badman claimed she was "grabbed aggressively" and pinned against the wall before being handcuffed by South Wales Police.
She said the incident had given her unbearable trauma.
South Wales Police said it had settled a civil claim arising from the arrest of a woman at her home.
Ms Badman, 49, from Porthcawl, said she woke in the early hours of 12 September 2020 to three police officers at her door.
"It was about 2am and there were three police officers who woke me up. I was grumpy because I don't sleep well at the best of times," she said.
"I went to my window downstairs to speak with them and asked them to come back at a reasonable hour."
'Considerable pain'
Ms Badman, who has complex post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety, depression, and two herniated discs in her back, said the officers became "very confrontational and aggressive" before the female officer put her hand through the window and unlocked the door.
"I was in my pyjamas, I didn't have any footwear on and they pinned me against the wall and 'cuffed me," she said.
"Because of the position of where my arms were I was in considerable pain, I was screaming at them to stop as they were hurting me, and my pyjama bottoms fell down.
"I was standing there, exposed, and the officers made no effort to pull up my bottoms or preserve my dignity."
As a victim of child sexual abuse, Ms Badman said the incident took her back to feelings she felt as a child - of being traumatised and feeling helpless.
"It was horrific, I just felt like I wasn't worthy of respect from South Wales Police.
"I don't have a history of violence. There were no markers for them to use the disproportionate level of abuse they did. They had no reason to believe I wouldn't be compliant."
Ms Badman said the compensation and apology did not go far enough, and she wants there to be changes within the police force
Ms Badman said after being handcuffed she asked for water, a gown or a blanket, but was refused all three by the officers.
"I was shivering in the van and my bottoms fell down again, I again asked for a blanket and this was refused.
"I was shaking and I think I went into shock, and I started vomiting, I was begging them for a medic."
She said that she was denied a medic and was not given a cup to drink water from the dispenser in her cell.
"They didn't abide by the duty of care, I just felt unworthy," she said.
Ms Badman said the incident followed a false allegation by someone she had never met.
South Wales Police apology
South Wales Police levied the charge on her but it was discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service because of a lack of evidence.
"Regardless of this, I am a vulnerable, disabled woman, with no markers, I wasn't a threat to two male and a female officer," she said.
She said that the compensation and apology were meaningless if no change were to happen.
"I want there to be change and for the officers to be punished. If we attacked an officer, we would be in prison, the same thing should happen to them.
"There is no place for that kind of abuse."
Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Bacon, from South Wales Police, said: "I have apologised for the actions of officers when Ms Badman was arrested and handcuffed, and for the distress caused.
"I am aware that these events were traumatic and have damaged her confidence in the police as well as her health. I hope the apology and settlement of the civil proceedings will rebuild her confidence in the police, and start the healing process."
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