Police in stab vests swoop... on boy, 3 playing with radio controlled toy car
A BOY of three innocently playing with a remote controlled car was confronted by park police wearing stab vests.
Idrees Waiyasil was left in tears after being accused of breaking park by-laws.
The officers, who have powers of arrest but are council employees rather than regular police officers, claimed his red toy car was a ‘mechanically-propelled vehicle’ and said it should not be used.
Idrees was with his father, Hariz Waiyasil, when the police approached in Battersea Park, south-west London, on Wednesday afternoon.
A furious Mr Waiyasil, 31, said he was threatened with a caution and that both he and his son felt forced to leave the park.
Last night, the park police were urged by the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group to concentrate on ‘real problems’ in the park rather than ‘bogus crimes’.
Most recent crime figures for Battersea Park show ten incidents last December alone – five of antisocial behaviour, two burglaries, two thefts and one report of a violent offence. Mr Waiyasil said: ‘I have nothing against the police but is this really the best use of their time? We weren’t causing a nuisance or annoying anyone.
‘I explained that they were battery-operated remote-controlled cars, not the noisy petrol ones. But the officers said, “We’ll give you a warning now, but if you carry on we’ll issue a caution”. They had high-vis jackets, stab vests and radios. My son burst into tears.’
The pair were on a private road used by joggers and cyclists.
A sign on the barrier leading to it says ‘No unauthorised motor vehicles beyond this point’.
But yesterday, The Sun reported how Idrees’s toy car, a miniature version of one owned by his father, is powered by two AA batteries.
Mr Waiyasil, who was also using his remote control car at the time, said: ‘I said to the officers I would put my car away but asked if my son could continue playing with his. But they refused.’
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The police are right to maintain law and order, but this response does appear to be remarkably heavy-handed.
‘At a time when budgets are stretched, you’d think the police force would have better things to do with its time.’ Wandsworth
‘Better things to do with its time’
Council, which employs the parks and event police who patrol Battersea Park, defended the officers’ actions.
A spokesman said: ‘Battersea Park is extremely busy with people jogging and cycling and officers may have considered the remote controls were causing a nuisance to park users.’
The park police have powers of arrest and use liveried vans similar to the Metropolitan Police, but the Met said it had no connection with the officers who confronted Idrees.