Assault by megaphone

A TRADE union leader has been accused of assaulting two police officers by using a megaphone to shout near their faces during a protest on Parliament Square.

 

The two-hour protest was against the Mayor of London's decision to make Uber and minicab drivers pay the congestion charge, despite exempting traditional black cabs from the fee. 

 

Mr Farrar claimed that the police were giving preferential treatment to the black-cab drivers, who were majority "white-British", over his members, who were from mainly "black and minority ethnic backgrounds".

 

Mr James Farrar, 51, was alleged to have used "unlawful force" whilst using a loud hailer near the heads of Sgt James Lewis and PC Ann Spinks while leading a demonstration against the London congestion charge on March 4 last year.  Police tried to clear protesting Uber drivers away when the alleged incident happened, Southwark Crown Court heard.

 

Mr Farrar, a former Uber driver, had used the megaphone close to the left ear of both officers in a manner that was described as "reckless" and "caused them injury.  However, Mr Farrar and his legal team deny both counts of assault and argue that sound waves do not count as physical force. 

 

The Trial Continues.

 

The Johnson Partnership

Nottingham Crime Solicitors