Derbyshire Police pays couple £9,000 after admitting unlawful home entry

Derbyshire Police has agreed to pay a couple £9,000 after admitting officers unlawfully entered their home and assaulted them during an incident in December 2022. The force apologised for the distress and harm caused, but said it took no disciplinary action against the officers involved.

Andrew and Sabrina Fearn were hosting a party at their home in Alvaston, Derby. Sabrina had earlier called police after a guest was found with a knife. Officers attended and left, then returned believing someone inside might be injured and need urgent medical attention.

Sabrina refused them entry, saying the party had ended and no guests remained. Police forced their way in. Legal documents cited by the BBC describe officers holding Andrew by the throat against a wall and Sabrina by the neck. Andrew was sprayed with an incapacitant, handcuffed and detained for 15 hours, the report says.

Both were arrested and charged with assaulting an emergency worker. Their trial was halted after police accepted that the forced entry was unlawful; the couple were found not guilty in December 2023. They later brought a civil claim over trespass, Andrew’s arrest and alleged assault and battery. Derbyshire Police accepted the claim and the case was settled for £9,000, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

Sabrina said the incident had caused severe stress and that she had been frightened to answer her door. She also said no officers had been held accountable.

The force said officers had acted on an “honestly held belief” that someone might be injured, but accepted that the legal grounds for entry under section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act had not been met because of the time that had elapsed since the initial call.

Police disputed other parts of the couple’s claim. The force said Sabrina was not handcuffed or detained, rejected the claim that Andrew suffered a dislocated shoulder, and did not accept that officers had acted negligently or that there had been a malicious prosecution. It said the couple’s account of Sabrina’s unlawful arrest was also not accepted, adding that officers gave her first aid during a medical episode.

The force said it expected high standards from its staff, acknowledged that officers could make errors and said it would seek to learn from incidents. It confirmed that no disciplinary action had been taken.