By Shock as Humberside Police issue “bizarre and dangerous” response to alleged verbal assault
Two women carrying out work near the bus station in Grimsby town centre were approached by a man who allegedly frequents the area and subjected to threats and verbal abuse – but were left shocked at the alleged response by Humberside Police.
The women were recording some footage of the bus station for work purposes, and said they were subsequently approached by the man, who threatened to steal the filming equipment and to “hunt them down” if he found out they had been filming him.
He then allegedly proceeded to follow them, treading on one of the women’s heels to stop her from walking, and “getting in her face” while he made further threats.
The woman, who does not wish to be named, told Gi Media: “While it was happening I only had one thought on my mind, and that was just to get away. I grabbed my filming equipment and started walking back to my place of work, thinking he’d leave me alone, but he didn’t.
“I was worried for myself and my colleague because there was no way of knowing if he would end up getting violent. I was just hoping it would end.
“I was very shocked and angry that there were so many people watching what was happening and no-one came over to help. Only one man approached us afterwards and asked if we’d been threatened, and that was it.”
While the attack was taking place, the second woman said she contacted Humberside Police and informed them about the incident.
She said she was then contacted two days later by an officer, who requested that she go back to Grimsby bus station to see if she could take a “sly” photograph of the suspect to then send to police.
She told Gi Media: “When I got off the phone to them, I couldn’t believe what I’d been told. The man threatened us in the first place because he thought we were filming him, and then I’m being told by the police to go back to the same place and get a ‘sly’ picture of him to send them. It’s just bizarre.
“The same thing could’ve happened all over again if he saw me taking this ‘sly’ picture, so I don’t understand why they would advise me to do something like that. It would just be putting me in further danger.”
The other woman added: “Their response was completely shocking and not the sort of response you’d expect from a police force – but I’m not really surprised considering the lack of support we received from them after the incident.”
We contacted Humberside Police for a statement on the matter.
A spokesperson for the force said: “On Thursday 9 September at 3:30pm it is reported that two women were approached by an unknown man and threatened as they carried out work in the local bus station on Town Hall Street, Grimsby.
“Our investigation is currently ongoing and officers continue to explore lines of enquiry.
“We are sorry to hear that, on this occasion the victim feels they did not receive the level of service that they expected. We aim to achieve the highest standards to ensure all victims receive the service that is required.
“To continue to meet demand for service and to enable us to keep our communities safe 999 calls should be used when an immediate response is required including crimes in action and threat to life.
“We are appealing to anyone who believes they were in the area at the time of this particular incident, who can assist us with our enquiries, to call us on our non-emergency number quoting crime reference 16/90904/21.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, Jonathan Evison, and the Chief Constable for Humberside Police have also been approached for comment.
