Marshland St James man says he felt ‘victimised’ by police

Sohale Rahman, a former Imam in West Norfolk, has called for police forces across the country to adopt a recognised policy and procedure to ensure all witnesses are treated in the same way. Mr Rahman, of Marshland St James, has made the call after winning a GBP2,000 payout from Nottinghamshire Police following legal action alleging false imprisonment after he was detained and had his car seized at the scene of a crash which claimed the life of a 52-year-old cyclist on the A617 in Upton, near Newark, in May 2018. The father-of-five witnessed the fatal crash as he was following a BMW along the road at around 9.45pm on his way home to West Norfolk when it was involved in a collision with a cyclist.

Sohale Rahman has won a GBP2,000 payout from Nottinghamshire Police, but now wants to see a proper policy in place on how to treat witnesses like him. (Image: Newsquest)Mr Rahman, a devout Muslim who was on his way home to enjoy a meal during Ramadan, ready to fast the next day as per his religion, did the right thing and immediately stopped to help. He told the Wisbech Standard that he pulled over and ran over to where the cyclist was lying, almost in the middle of the road, while dialling 999 to get help. "I was shouting, it's OK, you will be all right as I ran up to where he lay, but it soon became obvious he was dead," said Mr Rahman.

The BMW driver had pulled over just beyond where the collision had happened. RECOMMENDED READING: Six time lucky for executors of former Wisbech mayor to build homes in village[1] "I called the emergency services to tell them what had happened, and was struggling to tell them exactly where I was as I'm unfamiliar with the road.

Meanwhile, other vehicles were passing by the cyclist, and so I was trying to direct the traffic to protect him from being run over," he said. It took at more than 10 minutes for the emergency services to arrive, but when they did Mr Rahman, who was badly shaken having witnessed a person being killed, could not believe what followed. The 56-year-old business consultant said: "The police arrived, and the next thing I know, I'm being held at the scene.

I was told the officers needed to be sure I wasn't involved in a murder. "I was told to sit in the back of a police car, where I sat for three hours. I was then told my car was being seized.

I was taken to Newark police station, but I was never interviewed. They told me they were keeping my car and put me in a taxi to bring me home. "But we had barely left the police station when the taxi driver pulled over and told me to withdraw GBP170 to pay for him to take me home.

I hadn't been warned I would have to pay; luckily, I had the funds, but I hate to think what might have happened otherwise." He said police told him his car had been seized to check there was no debris from the accident underneath, but he said: "There were dozens of vehicles that drove through the debris field while I waited for the police to arrive, including a van that was coming the other way. "It stopped behind me, but the man did not have his vehicle seized, and he was allowed to go home.

I don't like playing the race card, but that is what it felt like to me," he said. His Audi TT was held by the police for 10 days before Mr Rahman was summarily told to collect it, and warned it would incur storage charges if not collected promptly. "They rang me at around 4pm on a Thursday and told me to pick my car up.

I told them I had work commitments and couldn't do it straight away. They gave me until the following morning, and said if I didn't get it, I would have to pay for storage," said Mr Rahman. He ended up travelling back to Nottinghamshire with his wife to collect it.

Mr Rahman wrote to Nottinghamshire Police at that point asking for GBP1,600 to cover the cost of hiring a car to use while his was impounded, the taxi fare, and his travelling costs to collect his car. He said: "I felt victimised, Nottinghamshire Police have never explained their actions, or apologised for the way I was treated. They told me to claim my expenses through my car insurance, which I knew was wrong, then they told me to claim through the BMW's insurance, which again was wrong."

In the end, Mr Rahman appointed specialist lawyer Iain Gould to act on his behalf, and as a result, Nottinghamshire Police has now agreed to pay him GBP2,000 plus his legal costs. "They have ended up paying me more than I was asking for. But it was never about compensation or money, it was about the fact that Nottinghamshire Police had never explained their actions," he said.

Mr Rahman continued: "They don't seem to have a procedure or policy in place that they can point to and say, 'That is the way we deal with witnesses like you'. I have since learned I could have simply left and gone home in my car, as I was not under arrest, but there is nothing to tell you your rights. It would be good to have a leaflet or something explaining what happens in such situations."

Mr Rahman said he has a great deal of respect for the police and has worked with Norfolk Constabulary in the past on their diversity policy to ensure everyone is treated the same. He has also been the vice chair of Norfolk Police's advisory group. "I understand police procedure and how things work, but Nottinghamshire Police don't appear to have a policy - it may be a national thing, and if that's the case, then there needs to be something put in place to ensure other people are not treated in the way that I was," said Mr Rahman.

He paid tribute to Mr Gould and thanked him for his support in bringing the successful case against Nottingham Police. But he added: "I settled out of court because I was advised that if I took it before a judge, I would end up having to pay the police costs and that could run up to GBP25,000, which is a ruinous amount. But I would have liked a judge to have heard what I had to say, and hear from Nottinghamshire Police on whether or not they have a policy or procedure in place."

Mr Rahman concluded: "What is it that they say 'No good deed goes unpunished' - that certainly appears to have been true in my case. I know I will think twice before stopping to help at an incident in the future. "The worst of it is no one has ever asked me for a statement on what I witnessed that night, not the police, not the coroner, not the court."

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said: "Mr Rahman was identified as the sole occupant of an Audi TT that was in the vicinity of a fatal collision along the A617 near Upton on 15 May 2018. "Due to possible debris damage and the position of his vehicle, it was necessary for the vehicle to be seized for a temporary time to ensure the underneath of the vehicle had no cross-contamination. "As is standard procedure, Mr Rahman was spoken to under caution at the scene but was not arrested.

"A complaint was subsequently received from Mr Rahman, and a compensation claim has now been settled.

"All cases which deal with claims for compensation are reviewed carefully and payments are only made where it is considered appropriate to do so."

References

1. ^ Six time lucky for executors of former Wisbech mayor to build homes in village (www.wisbechstandard.co.uk)