Cleared ex-constable takes his former force to court over arrest

Kashif Ahmed claims he endured “a massively resourced and protracted investigation” over two years that was “disproportionate and unnecessary” before all charges were dismissed against him in 2011.

The 36-year-old, a former police constable in the Leeds North-West division, pleaded not guilty at Bradford Crown Court to a total of 10 charges of obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception and fraud.

The case against him was dropped after a judge found there was a “very significant irregularity and impropriety at the root of the investigation” and that the whole process was “tarnished”.

Mr Ahmed, from Bradford, is now suing the force at a civil trial at Leeds County Court, where he claims the actions of the officers who investigated him “undermined the rule of law and threatened basic human rights”.

In papers submitted to the court, he claimed he was arrested several times from February 2009 as well as being “interviewed in excess of 19 times, held in custody for 34 hours, re-bailed five times and investigated in excess of two years”.

Mr Ahmed said the police allocated a “disproportionate” number of resources to the investigation and that officers from the force’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, Counter Terrorism Unit and Economic Crime Unit were involved.

He claims there were more than 80 officers involved in the probe and that they went to “extraordinary and unprecedented lengths” to investigate him.

He was later charged with obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception, relating to a credit card application, a personal loan and a mortgage loan, and fraud relating to three applications for car insurance and a building society loan.

In his court submissions, Mr Ahmed, who was a police officer between 2005 and 2011, says he received “excellent appraisals” and two police commendations during his career.

Mr Ahmed claimed there was an unresolved grievance between himself and Superintendent Steve Bennett, who was one of the officers involved in the investigation against him, dating back to March 2008.

He also alleged that the main investigating officers in the case were “all subject to complaints and were named respondents in employment tribunal proceedings”.

He said his arrest in February 2009 for allegedly perverting the course of justice was a means to gain access to his house “to search for financial material to advance a secret criminal investigation”.

He said: “Had the officers conducted a proper, proportionate, transparent, lawful and fair investigation the claimant would not have been arrested or indeed charged with any offence.

“It is my contention that these officers acted in bad faith and other than in the interests of justice, they deliberately exceeded their legal powers, their actions undermined the rule of law and threatened basic human rights.”

Mr Ahmed was yesterday questioned in court by Mark Ley-Morgan, representing West Yorkshire Police, over the allegations that saw him charged.

Mr Ley-Morgan accused the former officer of misleading two mortgage firms over whether he was renting out a property he owned in Bradford. He then claimed he lied about having a job as a middle manager with a charity when applying for a credit card.

Mr Ahmed denied both accusations.

Mr Ahmed further denied doing anything wrong when it was revealed he had printed out a restricted police document relating to an alleged assault of a friend’s son and then left it at the friend’s house.

Mr Ley-Morgan told him: “Mr Ahmed, you are incapable of telling the truth about anything. One lie after another trips out of your mouth.”

The civil case at Leeds County Court is expected to last three weeks. West Yorkshire Police declined to comment.