Doctor robbed and branded ‘snitch’ when he called police

A DERBY doctor has been left “anxious to go out in public” after he was robbed in the street and then taunted by strangers when he called police.

The doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, said the incident occurred in the early hours of last Saturday.

The senior doctor at Royal Derby Hospital said he was attacked by a “tall man” who threatened to stab him if he did not hand over cash, so the doctor gave him £80 and the assailant ran off. The victim followed the robber but was attacked by him again as he called 999.

He said: “I followed him from a distance, but as he was so fast I lost sight of him. I was standing outside some houses on Abbey Street, phoning 999, when he came out of one house and attacked me, throwing a huge punch which I narrowly dodged. It most certainly would have knocked me out if it had landed.”

The doctor said he heard a couple of people who seemed to be shouting encouragement from down the street, which sounded like “smash him up”.

He said: “They were presumably goading the man into to assault me further. He then grabbed my coat by the hood ripping it, but I pulled my coat off to get away and then he ran into the grounds of Ye Old Spa Inne and disappeared.”

While the doctor was waiting for police, he claimed another man who looked “menacing and clearly meant me harm” appeared out of the same house and tried to chase him away.

Once police arrived, the doctor said “young men” began to come out of surrounding houses and taunting him, calling him a “snitch”.

He said: “Police couldn’t find the mugger and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Several young men started coming out of houses and from areas nearby and shouting at the police, filming them and calling me a ‘snitch’.

“So far the police have been very slow to react and investigate and I’m disappointed in their effort. I found the whole event, especially the mugging and the assault, very distressing and now feel anxious going out in public.

“I’m in my mid-40s and only 5ft 8 and slim build, so the man who mugged and assaulted me was a much bigger man making things all the more frightening, not to mention the threat of being stabbed. I just want to warn people that area isn’t particularly safe.”

A police spokesperson said: “We received a call to reports that a man had been robbed in the Burton Road area of Derby on October 17, at around 1am. Officers attended the scene immediately and took the victim to a place of safety.

“Since October 17, various lines of enquiry have been followed and the victim in this case has been kept up to date with the ongoing investigation.

“Contact was attempted to be made later in the day on October 17, but officers were unable to speak to the victim despite numerous calls and a visit to his home.

“The man has been referred to victim services for support and was last spoken to by an officer on October 22, in order to gain information regarding his clothing to assist in CCTV trawls of the local area.

“As a force we absolutely understand the effect that this type of crime has on victims and support is in place to help with the physical and emotional impact of this type of crime.

“We are sorry to hear that the victim is not pleased with the police response in relation to this incident and officers will be speaking to him in due course to understand how the force response may be able to be improved.”