Lies Concealed Police Acts, Detective Claims

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30234, 12 September 1963, Page 13

Lies Concealed Police Acts, Detective Claims

(NZ. Press Association— Copyright)

LONDON, Sept 11. Police concocted a story about a fight among three suspects to explain injuries the men got when they were beaten by two detectives, a Home Office inquiry at Sheffield, Yorkshire, was told yesterday by one of the detectives, 22-year-old Derek Streets. Streets and the other detective, 31-year-oJd Derek Millicheap. are appealing against their dismissal from the Sheffield Police Force. They were members of a special seven-man crime squad—now dissolved —set up to fight a growing wave of online in the city. Streets and Millicheap are claiming they were acting under supervision when they beat the prisoners with a cosh and a rhinoceros whip. Streets, conducting his own appeal, questioned DetectiveChief Inspector Joseph Batty about what happened the morning after the beating. • i Batty said he was asked by Chief Superintendent George Camill, the C.I.D.

chief, to make inquiries He said: “I got the impression there had been a fight in the toilets. I understood Streets and Miilicheap had been involved ” Streets said: “I put nt to you that you could not possibly have heard about this story of a fight in the toilets because it had not been concocted at that stage ” When Batty said that was what he had been told by members of the squad. Streets suggested the reason might be that all five squad members on duty that night were expecting to be charged with the beatings. The chairman of the appeal tribunal. Mr G R. Swanwick, Q.C., questioned Batty about the way he had carried out hut inatruotions to inquire into the allegations. Batty said he called ths five officers of the squad together and said he wanted statements from them “Surely that is inviting a concocted story,” Mr Swanwick said The hearing will continue today.