A DISABLED man has launched legal action against Police Scotland after he was wrongfully arrested and beaten – then had his complaint thrown out.
Lee Fraser, 48, had been returning from the supermarket with his wife when he was tackled to the ground by two officers in Dundee.
The father-of-one, who was recovering from spinal surgery and has cysts on his brain, was then punched in the face and body.
The assault was so severe that the police officers broke his tooth.
Cops then charged Mr Fraser with assault and resisting arrest but he was found not guilty at a later court hearing.
Despite his wife filming the attack the Police Investigations Review Commissioner dismissed a complaint due to “insufficient evidence”.
Mr Fraser from Dundee has never received an apology and believes a miscarriage of justice civil action is the only way to hold Police Scotland accountable.
He said: “Police Scotland continually tell us they are here to “keep people safe” – well can they protect us from themselves?
“If the force has any shred of decency they’d stop their people acting like a gang of militants, take action against those who dishonour the uniform and do right by the victims.
“Now for the PIRC to throw out my complaint despite the video and my injuries… it just beggars belief.
“It’s like they are all just looking out for themselves – this is clear in the fact they summed everything up in a one-page letter and didn’t even give me a route to appeal.
“I genuinely feel a legal action is the only way to hold Police Scotland to account.”
The attack happened around 9pm on 23 March 2021, just one year after Mr Fraser underwent a discectomy surgery on his spine.
He and his wife Sheryl, 46, were returning from Lidl on Dura Street in Dundee when their car was pulled over by a police van that came up behind them.
The pair got out of the car to greet officers but as they did, officers sprang from their vehicle.
Describing the chaos, Mr Fraser said: “The first cop was screaming at my wife to get back inside the car and grabbed her.
“A second officer rushed at me so I ended up pinned against my open car door next to the steering wheel. He was so close and aggressive I felt his saliva hit my face.
“He was out of control.
“He shouted that I was not being compliant and I needed to go to the floor – that’s when my wife was starting to panic and begged the officers to stop because of my condition.
“She pulled out the car’s blue badge to show officers and they looked at it, said something like ‘We understand’, but they kept laying into me – it didn’t change their behaviour.”
Mr Fraser was grabbed at the back of the neck by one officer while the second kicked him in the back of the legs.
Both cops then pinned the disabled father to the ground and beat him as his wife screamed on in horror – leaving Mr Fraser with multiple cuts, bruises and a broken tooth.
He added: “We screamed at them that I was disabled. They didn’t care at all.
“To this day we still don’t even know why they even pulled us over.”
Mr Fraser was held overnight at Bell Street Police Station where police gave three different reasons for stopping the couple in the first place.
One officer claimed Mr Fraser was driving 58mph in a 30mph zone, one claimed he failed to stop for a red light and a third officer alleged he was pulled over for routine checks.
Police have failed to provide evidence to support any of these allegations.
Staff at Bell Street also removed Mr Fraser’s crutches which left him immobile in the cell – forcing him to crawl in the event he needed the toilet.
Mr Fraser also claims an officer laughed at him after requesting use of the disabled lift when he learned he’d had to navigate four flights of stairs to reach the cell.
Officers also allegedly refused access to medical treatment at Ninewells Hospital to check on Mr Fraser’s injuries.
They refused to take photos of the injuries at Mr Fraser’s request despite making him provide mugshots, fingerprints and DNA samples.
Mr Fraser was allowed to return home the following day but was charged with assault and resisting arrest.
He appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on 14 June 2022 where a prosecutor allegedly tried to strike a deal – if he admitted to assaulting an officer they’d drop the resisting arrest charge.
However Mr Fraser refused and went ahead with the trial and was found not guilty by a sheriff after a two-day trial.
Mr Fraser added: “The public’s support since the false claims against me were thrown out has been positive and overwhelming.
“There’s a real sense that people are more awake now when it comes to police abusing their powers and that we’re no longer going to accept that kind of behaviour.
“I heard the older officer involved could be retiring soon so I’d hate for him to be able to leave quietly and keep his pension without being held accountable.
“I’m just glad my wife started recording the incident after the first guy let her go because without the footage we’d likely have no one believing us.”
Mr Fraser complained to Police Scotland about his treatment but is still to receive an apology.
A Police Investigations Review Commissioner complaint was thrown out this week.
A PIRC senior investigator said: “In respect of your complaint there was insufficient corroborative evidence of a crime having occurred or that any officer used excessive force towards you.”
A Digby Brown Solicitors spokesman confirmed the firm is investigating and said:
“We are investigating the circumstances of this incident and we will provide all necessary support and advice to Mr Fraser.”
