Man Wrongly Detained in Cloned Car Chase Mix-Up
At around 1.40pm on Saturday, police in Loughton detained a man because his clothes matched those worn by a suspect who’d just fled a cloned car after ignoring a police stop.
Clothing Mix-Up Sparks Struggle
Officers approached the man to question him, but he pulled away instead of staying calm. Fearing he was trying to escape, officers physically restrained him.
It soon became clear the man had nothing to do with the cloned car. He was released shortly after.
Second Man Arrested Nearby
Meanwhile, just yards away, officers stopped a second man wearing similar clothes. This man was arrested, questioned, and later released under investigation.
Police Actions Under Scrutiny
The handling of the first detention—including the use of handcuffs and incapacitant spray—is now being investigated. Essex Police have voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet said: “We were searching for someone who had run from a suspicious car after failing to stop for police. At that stage, our officers had a description of his clothing, but not of the man himself.
They initially detained the wrong person and we’re taking steps to get in touch with him to offer our apologies for this case of mistaken identity.”
