Disabled man hauled from home and mistakenly arrested for ‘strangulation’

A disabled man was hauled from his home and arrested over a suspected strangulation – only for cops to realise they had the wrong person.

Lee Ramsden, 54, said he was ‘shook up’ after officers burst into his property and detained him at his home in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police were called to an alleged violent offense and arrested Mr Ramsden at his address on Thursday.

But as he was being driven to a police station, officers received information showing he was not the suspect they were looking for.

Just 35 minutes later, police turned the van around and took him back home.

Mr Ramsden, who suffers from paralysis down the right-hand side of his body after a fall 18 years ago, said the ordeal left him terrified.

He said: ‘I was scared. I just got up at half-six, I just made a coffee, I sat back down, and a policewoman was at the window.

‘It was bad, real bad. I couldn’t believe it. So, we just got to the station, and then the van stopped, and they said, ‘We’ve got the wrong person; it’s not him’. Then they just turned round and said, ‘We’ve got some good news for you, you’re going back home’.

He added: ‘I was shook up over it. It was terrible. I was scared to fall because I’m disabled.’

Mr Ramsden claimed officers ignored his disability when handcuffing him.

However, Greater Manchester Police disputed this, saying officers followed due process for an individual with disabilities.

The force did admit to Mr Ramsden’s wrongful arrest.

A spokesperson said: ‘Officers were deployed to an incident regarding an alleged violent offense at around 6:13am on June 4.

‘Following initial enquiries, officers were provided with a name, address and photograph believed to be linked to the suspect. This information was subsequently found to be inaccurate. Acting in good faith on the information available at the time, officers attended the address and arrested an individual at 6:34am.

‘At 7:09am, it became clear that the detained individual was not the person sought. He was de-arrested promptly and returned to his home address.

‘The correct suspect was later identified, arrested and taken into custody. We have been in contact with the man since the incident to address any concerns.’

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