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It's not every day that a police officer reads your rights and escorts you in a police car to a police station. So when this happened to me last night it was pretty much like taken from a Forensics episode.
Friday night out!!!!!!!!Woooooooow! We had a lot to celebrate and we were both looking forward to a great night out, the first one in a few good months. I met my sis at Leicester Square Station, equipped with a very good mood after a looong and hectic week at work. It was packed. Everybody was out and about looking for a place to have a good time.We were initially going to
SALSA! ,a salsa club, obviously. They were experiencing a power cut and the guy at the entrance said it probably would not open that night. 😞((. First bad sign. We didn't let that ruin our evening and decided to look for another cool venue nearby. Piccadilly Circus was close and there are loads of nice clubs in the area. So, off we went!! Seeking the best place with the best music.
Here and there young people advertising different places, clamouring excitedly and urging party-goers to grab a flier and decide on a bar/club.
METRA CLUB was a club in front of which a young Italian bloke stopped us and started giving us his little speech. The club was playing R&B music, and the admission was only £5 with a shot included. Quite a bargain! It didn't take long to decide it was the place for the night. I mean, in the end, who can resist R&B? And free shots?? 😊)) And off we were, all smiling and cheerful, ready to be entertained, to have a good few cocktails and dance all night long....
That's when our smiles came to an end and our great mood had a change of heart. The usual bag checkup at the entrance revealed I was carrying a CS gas spray. The bouncer took it out and asked us to step aside, while he would get the manager. He didn't say anything else,so we thought 'Oh, this must be regular procedure', although in Romania they just keep the spray for you until you go out of the club and you reclaim it. Ok, so , we thought this is gonna take just a bit longer..we could hear the music on the background and couldn't wait to get in!! There was a huge mirror on the hall so we were dancing and putting lipgloss on, waiting to carry on with our evening. We had no idea we were in for a huge surprise and would actually never step inside the place!!
The word '
police' came up in a 5 word conversation between the manager and the bouncer. That was the first sign something was dead wrong. I turned and asked the bouncer:
-Are you calling the police?
-Yes! he said sharply.
That was all he said. He wan't very chatty and seemed bored to death.
We thought: 'this is weird! why call the police for a gas spray?'
I insisted with a few more questions and the guy gradually revealed that the police would come and take us to the police station.
-
CS gas is illegal in England. Those were the words that made us stop giggling.
Shortly 3 police officers arrived at the club. One of them asked me if the CS gas was mine. I admitted simply.
Then the following words...well...I won't forget them for the rest of my life!
-YOU ARE UNDER ARREST! I thought 'yeah right' and laughed at him.
He told me the gas is illegal in England and started reading my rights.
Now, that's something you don't hear everyday!!
'You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.' You might know the drill from movies, I now know it from ...well, having them read to me!!
When he finished I just burst:
'This is ridiculous, I had no idea it was illegal here!! London is a dangerous city!! How can a girl protect herself ?? '
They advised me not to say a word until I would be properly interviewed and took me to the police car. I was taken to the Charing Cross police station. It wasnt' really what we had planned for that night, but we were in no position to argue...
My sister who started crying wasn't allowed to come with me and some officers guided her from the club to the police station.
In the car I started crying only when I saw people staring at me. The car was going very slowly because of Friday night heavy traffic and the people walking on the streets could see me in the police car and of course they were curiously staring. At first I didn't know why, then it hit me: well, Mona, you kind of are in a police car. You MUST be a criminal!!
DO I LOOK LIKE A CRIMINAL, FOR GOD'S SAKE? AND YOU PEOPLE DON'T HAVE SOME BOMB ATTACKS TO DEAL WITH, BETTER THAN TAKING ME INTO QUESTIONING AND RUINING MY SO ANXIOUSLY AWAITED NIGHT?? DON'T YOU HAVE SOME REAL CRIMINALS TO DEAL WITH?
The police officers at the station tried to be nice to me. They most likely understood my situation and tried to calm me down. A policewoman started taking notes of who I was, how long I'd been in London, etc etc. Should I laugh? Should I cry?? How serious is this?I opted for weeping, as giggling wasn't a very good option.There was nothing funny about hearing your name and the word ''arrested'' in the same sentence. I WAS ARRESTED and it might end up with a nice criminal record. They took all my possessions and started taking my things out of my bag. My nice denim GAP bag, brand new, bought the same day!! every item, taken out and written on an investigation sheet.Then body search. With gloves, they searched every inch of my body from head to toe..Now, this was becoming embarrassing and just a bit too serious!!
At that time I started being serious, and grasped the immensity of the trouble I was in.
It wasn't a joke, it wasn't a prank, it wasn't getting caught copying in a test, it was my future we were talking about. Getting into a nice London university I have been dreaming about for ages. That was the first thing that came in my mind. They all ask for criminal records. To have a criminal record in England 6 months after arrival. Now, that sounds quite ....life-ruining.
They explained to me the procedures. They had to finger print me, take photos and a DNA sample, interview me, which was basically to tell my side of the story, and then wait in a CELL for the outcome. Yes, that's right!! wait in a cell !!!
-For how long?
-We don't know.
-I'm just worried about my sister.
A police officer assured me she was all right, had been escorted to the station and was waiting for news in the lobby. I wasn't allowed to talk to her, but they would let her know of how things were going.
Ok......
The Sergent gave me my rights translated in Romanian and asked me if I wished to talk to a solicitor. I refused. There was no point to ask for one, I was not guilty of anything. After a full declaration of what had happened, when she had all the data, she tried to assure me that I would probably get out by the end of the night, as it was obvious to her I was unknowingly carrying a weapon.
-I carried it in the plane, it passed the British Customs, I pleaded for myself.
She knew that, she added:
- Sometimes people come with them in their hand bags.
-You're not a British citizen, so it's not very serious, because it is legal in your country and you didn't know it isn't legal here, she gave me hope I wouldn't end up with a nice CR.
I went through finger prints, photo and DNA , the guy in charge of doing this reassured me no action would be taken against me and I would probably be let go with a CAUTION. It was not for sure, it would be the Sergent's decision to take, but in all likelihood, I would not end up with a CR.
Deep down my heart I knew it, it would have been absolutely ridiculous to end up with a CR for carring a gas spray.Analysing everything in hindsight, I think they have a pretty good system, it's normal to investigate me and try to see if I was saying the truth or not. In the end, a CS gas is considered a
FIREARM in England!!! So, it might look like a joke to me, but for them it's damn serious, just like finding a gun in your bag.
So all these nerve-recking procedures -and to me, senseless and time-wasting- actually make England the safe place it is. ( disregarding the car bomb attacks and the Glasgow airport attacks which have paniced to country in the last few days).
When you look at the big picture and people's safety in the streets, this is thanks to the strong enforcement laws they have and the strictness they apply them.
It wasn't nice at all what I experienced but it makes me aware I live in a high-security and well-protected country and that's a good feeling....
Ok, so the interview was recorded and the words
prisoner and
arrested started to sound normal to my ears. I was getting used to my new prisoner status.
It was brief, 5 minutes only.I explained that it was an eye paralysing spray that I always carried just in case I would be attacked , to have time to run away.In Romania we buy them in stores.That's actually how I got mine.
When the interview ended they took me to a
cell. Cell 13. A bed and a loo.
-How long will it last?
They wouldn't know.
I think it lasted about an hour before they came to tell me I would be let go with a CAUTION.Thank God!
They explained me what that meant.... I would be in Police records for 3 years and they advised me to write about this on my university application.
Nice!! Well done, Mona!!!
We got home at 4am,tired, and really upset that we didn't have the excellent night out we were hoping for.
One good thing that came from this...oh well...I can tick POLICE ARREST off my TO DO BEFORE I'M 30 LIST !!
Sorry there are no photos,my mind wasn't really on snapping pics... Funny bit: While the police office was fingerprinting me:
-Put your finger here like this...
-Yeah, I know...the words just slipped out of my mounth, without thinking.
-You know?he asked confused.
-Yeah, I did this before in Colombia.
He didn't ask anything else.I guess he didn't hear me or couldn't have cared less.
Having your finger prints taken in Colombia! Now, how does this sound?? Pretty interesting!! You must have led quite an exciting life there, Mona!!! Nobody would guess that they fingerprint you in Colombia just for changing some money at an Exchange Office!!!
INFO ABOUT THE CS GAS SPRAY I HAD ON ME (http://www.answers.com/topic/cs-gas)
CS incapacitant spray
CS incapacitant spray is used as a temporary incapacitant, to subdue attackers, or persons who are violently aggressive, by many police forces. The chemical reacts with moisture on the skin and in the eyes causing a burning sensation and the immediate forceful shutting of the eyes. Reported effects can include tears streaming from the eyes, running nose full of mucus, burning in the nose and throat areas, disorientation, dizziness and restricted breathing. In highly concentrated doses it can also induce severe coughing and vomiting.
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gloria marce
non-member comment
Just right for your curriculum vitae
I'm really sorry for the hard time you had, although it's funny. that's exactly what happens when we explore different cultures around the world, sometimes we find out that there are cultures way more civilizad than ours, some others are not that advanced. It makes us think that we have a lot to learn from each other. There's always something new to learn and to laugh about. " A donde fueres, has lo que vieres" XOXOXO Gloria