A man has sued Hertfordshire Police after a video of him being stopped by an officer was shared on Facebook divulging his personal details.
Yassar Yaqoob said he felt embarrassed and intimidated by the incident which was filmed and made fun of by onlookers before being shared on the Internet.
The civil servant subsequently took action against Hertfordshire Constabulary for allowing a police officer to publicly disclose his name, home address, phone number and email.
The former Hertfordshire civil engineer, who going about his job at the time, says he was stopped for allegedly behaving unlawfully.
“An officer stopped me and was quite abrupt. I explained I was only doing my job and didn’t intend to break any law,” said Yassar.
“He asked for my personal details, but he was overly loud and angry, which me made uncomfortable. His attitude was disgusting.”
Mr Yaqoob says he asked the police officer to stop shouting as he noticed people started to gather and record the incident but upon refusing to give any further details, he was threatened with arrest.
“The officer’s behaviour and attitude were a great cause of embarrassment for me. I turned my back to the members of public, who were recording the police officer, and calmly explained that I feel distressed,” he added.
“The officer’s response was that he was aware of the filming and that he was filming as well, and as it was a public place, anyone was allowed to record.
“In that moment I felt very intimidated. The last thing I ever wanted was to be stopped by the police for no reason.”
Mr Yaqoob said he noticed three people recording the incident, which was later uploaded to Facebook where it was clear that his personal information had been revealed.
Later that day, Mr Yaqoob was told by his manager that a video of him was on social media platforms receiving a large number of views.
He contacted the police to report the incident, but said he received a less than adequate response from the authorities.
“There was no help, or any apologies,” he added.
“I spoke to senior members of the department, but they weren’t interested in what I was saying. They claimed it wasn’t a data breach and the officer was just doing his job.”
Mr Yaqoob tried contacting several lawyers only to be told there was nothing they could do to help him, until he came across Angelus Law, who managed to settle his case out of court in August for £4,000 in damages.
He said: “They were very helpful and showed empathy. I could trust them, and I was very relieved with the outcome.”
Still impacted by the incident, Mr Yaqoob said he avoids going to that area following unpleasant experiences with people recognising him, shouting his name and address and ringing him.
He said: “That officer damaged the respect I had for the police. It’s going to be very hard to trust them again. There were several times after when I wanted to contact them, but I decided against it because the trust has gone.
“If they had communicated with me professionally after the incident, maybe I wouldn’t have gone down the legal route, but they were very ignorant and arrogant to me, and didn’t show any remorse.
“I wouldn’t want anyone else to be in that situation. They were very cold hearted and tried to make me feel like it was my fault.
“They still haven’t apologised, I think they want an apology from me.”
Larissa Ellis, Head of Legal Operations at Angelus Law, said: “We are committed to the safeguarding of individuals. When the trust of the public is breached by those in authority, we will seek justice.
“Privacy is a fundamental human right. At Angelus Law, we believe that every person deserves to live without fear of their private information being exposed. We are glad to be helping individuals like our client regain their sense of security.”
