Disabled man 'treated as animal'

Martin James outside court - he has denied a public order offence and assault

A wheelchair user has claimed police treated him "worse than an animal" as he was arrested outside an officer's home, magistrates have been told.

Martin James, 47, claims his arms were "wrenched" behind his back and he was "thrown" into a police van.

A row escalated while his photo was being taken for a newspaper next to a police van, he claimed was blocking a pavement near his home in Carmarthen.

He denies a public order offence and assaulting a police constable.

Mr James, who lived in a nearby street, had contacted the Carmarthen Journal to complain about the way the van was parked, close to the entrance of a private cul-de-sac in the Llangunnor area of the town.

He told magistrates in Llanelli that during the photo-shoot on 19 May an off-duty officer approached him and shouted: "Get off my road, get off my land".

'Brutally manhandled'

He claimed the row escalated and police wrenched his arm behind him, as they restrained him.

"I was screaming in pain," he said.

"They treated me worse than an animal - they just threw me into the police van onto the floor."

At Carmarthen police station, he claims he was "brutally manhandled" by officers.

He accepted, as he tried to retrieve one of his shoes from a policeman, he "accidentally" made contact with an officer but denied assaulting him.

Prosecuting David Haines put it to Mr James that early in the confrontation he was "out of control".

Mr James denied he was shouting abuse, including "paedophile" and "rapist", spitting at them and lashing out.

Mr Haines said: "You were given every opportunity to leave (the cul-de-sac) but you simply would not. The truth of the matter is you threatened and insulted the officers at the roadside and continued to do so at the police station."

He accused Mr James of making his evidence up.

"You were placed carefully in that van, weren't you?" he asked.

The court heard Mr James has hydrocephalus - water on the brain - due to smallpox vaccine damage he suffered when around six months old.

His carer on the day, Simon Hatch, told the court he was "disgusted" the way Mr James was treated before his arrest.

He alleged he saw an officer "lunge at him" and grab him by the throat.

"I'm still fuming about it, it was totally out of order, he was not doing anything wrong," said Mr Hatch.

The van belonged to off-duty officer, Andrew Edwards, a police dog handler, who lived in the cul-de-sac. Pc Edwards was called and around the same time, a CID officer, who was passing, also stopped.

Magistrates will announced their decision on Wednesday.

Photographs taken by the Carmarthen Journal of Martin James being arrested were shown to magistrates