Thame man’s car search ‘unlawful’

A man from Thame, who spent time in prison after an incident in a Thame pub, has been awarded compensation from the police regarding, what he described as ‘an unlawful search’of his vehicle.

Peter Butler

Peter Butler, formally of Glenham Road, Thame, was found guilty of Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), and two counts of common assault in March 2016.

On January 24, 2016, Mr Butler’s vehicle was parked in a private car park in Swan Walk, Thame. A police officer, PC Aaron Walker, was handed a car key that belonged to Mr Butler, that had been dropped during an incident in the Swan Hotel, Thame. He then went to Mr Butler’s vehicle, entered and carried out a full search without Mr Butlers knowledge or authority.

Mr Butler said: “when I was handed back my car keys by Thames Valley Police I was shocked to find when I went to pick it up that it had been ransacked with the belongings that where in a locked glove compartment all across the front seat and foot well. The boot has also been searched and my property disturbed. PC Aaron Walker had admitted searching my car although he had no authorisation, nor lawful reason to do so. I informed the Chef Constable of Thames Valley Police that I was prepared to take legal action for trespass and seek compensation.”

A Thames Valley Police spokesperson told Thame.Net: “We compensated Mr Butler £150 but did not accept liablity.”

Previous police apology

Back in In March 2017, Mr Butler complained to Thames Valley Police, saying that there were various inaccuracies in a press release they issued after Mr Butler’s sentencing, which stated that Mr Butler had punched a woman in the head ‘multiple times’.

In November 2017, Thames Valley Police responded to the complaint, accepting that PC Walker’s comment (that Mr Butler had punched a woman in the head multiple times), was “a wrong choice of words.”

Mr Butler was not satisfied with the outcome of Thames Valley Police’s investigation into his complaint, and mounted an appeal.

In December 2017, Thames Valley Police rejected Mr Butler’s appeal, but stated: “It has been accepted that a mistake was made in this matter, in the wording of the press release, and that the service provided to you has fallen short of that which I would expect, for which I offer my apologies.”

Whilst Thames Valley Police did not accept that there was any evidence of deliberate misconduct by PC Walker, they confirmed that ‘strong words of advice’ had been given to him.