This is the moment a Metropolitan Police officer threatens to arrest a Christian gospel preacher who was accused of a hate crime.
In a video published on YoutubeA group of preachers can be heard protesting their innocence to officers after a member of the public claimed they had made homophobic comments.
The person recording the officers says: ‘All we do is preach our religion. We have been preaching about the gospel and Jesus Christ (and what) the Bible says in the book of John, chapter three verse 16.
The footage begins with the preacher explaining to the officers what they were preaching.
A second officer explains that a citizen called the police for homophobic comments
‘For the love of God for the world, he gave his only son, so that whoever he was, whether homosexual, drunk, liar or prostitute, would believe in him, not perish and have eternal life.’
However, as the preacher continues to ask for clarification on the situation, two different officers threaten to arrest him unless he provides his details.
At the beginning an officer can be heard saying: ‘There are currently allegations of a hate crime, a public order offence, section 4a (and) allegations of homophobia.
‘I haven’t heard anything, I’m not saying I’ve heard anything. Someone has called us. It may be completely false or true.
‘(But) if I walk away and see offending, and the victim wants to press charges… I might have failed a potential victim.
They add: ‘If you don’t give me your name or address, I have grounds to arrest you. It is a code of practice.
A second officer similarly says there has been an allegation of a hate crime that has caused “alarm or distress in a public space.”
They then demand: ‘Give me your name now or you will be arrested.’ You can spend the night in a cell and we can do it that way.
It comes just weeks after the Met was criticized over images of five police officers trying to silence a gospel singer as she performed for fans on Oxford Street.
A third agent threatened to arrest the preachers if they did not provide their information
Here’s a look at one of the preachers recording the police officers.
Harmonie London, 20, had been singing outside the John Lewis flagship store in London on Sunday when she was approached by volunteer police officer Maya Hadzhipetkova, who wrongly told the busker she couldn’t “sing church songs.” outside the church grounds.
Scotland Yard has since apologized for the mishap, explaining that the alleged offense was due to unlicensed street performances and not the content of the songs she sang, adding that Hadzhipetkova is being investigated.
A clip of the incident shows there were five other officers at the scene, and one of the officers was interrupted by a passerby who asked why the officers weren’t spending their time “catching murderers, rapists and murderers.”
Viewers criticized the Metropolitan Police for “wasting taxpayers’ money” and police resources, demanding an explanation as to why officers threatened to confiscate Harmonie’s equipment.
Harmonie London, 20 (pictured), had been singing outside the John Lewis flagship store in London on Sunday when she was approached by volunteer police officer Maya Hadzhipetkova.
Scotland Yard has since apologized for the mishap and explained that the alleged offense was due to unlicensed street performance.
The Christian singer told MailOnline tonight that she felt “threatened” by the five officers, adding that it was a “waste of police resources” when the force continues to “say they are underfunded and that crime is very high in London.” “.
Throughout the new clip, Harmonie’s cameraman approaches a police officer for sounding “very dumb,” to which the officers respond, “Hey YouTube, apparently I’m sounding very dumb.”
The woman is then heard telling the officer: “I’d rather you use our taxpayers’ money to catch murderers, rapists and pedophiles, but you’re here after a busker, which is actually the city’s problem, not yours.” .
‘All these officers are here wasting taxpayers’ money. This is a shame for you and a waste of time for the police. “And I don’t think all the police officers here are happy about this.”
To which the anonymous officer responded: ‘I’m not looking for anyone, she’s leaving, I’m happy with that. If you walked away and stopped engaging in conversation, I would walk away too. You asked me to talk to you.
When the filmmaker insists again that officers “should catch murderers, rapists, and murderers” instead of arresting buskers on the streets, the officer sarcastically responds, “In which case, the next time you hear about a murder, I will go to him.” .’