A father with Parkinson’s disease was arrested as he watched the Olympic cycling road race because he ‘failed to smile or look like he was enjoying himself’.
Mark Worsfold, a martial arts trainer and former soldier, claims that he was thrown to the floor and handcuffed just as cyclists passed by.
His worried wife Nicola only found out he was being held after she reported him missing when he did not turn up for their daughter’s ninth birthday party.
The 54-year-old had his fingerprints, DNA and mugshot taken before being questioned about why he did not appear to be enjoying the event on July 28.
Police said Mr Worsfold, who was held for over five hours, was arrested because of ‘his manner, his state of dress and his proximity to the course’.
A spokesman added that the arrest was necessary to avoid a breach of the peace because he was standing near a group of protesters.
But Mr Worsfold, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2010, said that one of the symptoms of the disease is muscle rigidity, which can cause his face to become expressionless and mask-like.
‘I was sitting minding my own business,’ he told a local newspaper. ‘Before I knew anything the police grabbed me off this seven-foot wall, threw me to the floor and cuffed me so all I saw of the cycle race was between the feet of people from the pavement.
‘It could have been done better. I was arrested for not smiling. I have Parkinson’s.’
Mr Worsfold has since asked for a letter of exoneration from police. The officers who made the arrest have apologised to him.
一名罹患了帕金森癥的觀眾近日在觀看奧運(yùn)自行車公路賽時被英國警方莫名逮捕,因為他“沒有笑,看起來也不享受賽事”。
馬克-沃斯福德是一名武術(shù)教練,也是一名退役士兵。他說在自行車賽選手從身旁穿過時自己被按在了地上,戴上了手銬。
他的妻子妮可拉非常焦急,在發(fā)現(xiàn)他沒有去參加女兒的九歲生日派對后報警稱他失蹤,卻發(fā)現(xiàn)他其實是被逮捕了。
7月28日,在警察質(zhì)詢沃斯福德為什么不享受賽事之前,就要求54歲的沃斯福德留下了自己的指紋,并采集了DNA信息和臉部照片。
警方表示,他被逮捕是因為“面無表情、衣著不得體、以及站得過于接近賽道”。沃斯福德被關(guān)押了5個多小時。
一位發(fā)言人補(bǔ)充說,逮捕他在當(dāng)時看來是必要的,是為了防止發(fā)生擾亂治安的行為,因為他緊挨著一批抗議人群。
沃斯福德在2010年被診斷患上了帕金森癥。他表示,自己病癥的一個表現(xiàn)就是肌肉僵硬,這會導(dǎo)致他面無表情,看起來像戴上了面具。
他告訴當(dāng)?shù)匾患覉蠹堈f:“我當(dāng)時正坐在那里做自己的事,還沒反應(yīng)過來,警察就把我從7英尺高的圍欄上拽下來,按倒在地,把我銬了起來。所以我只在路邊人們的腳的縫隙間看到了自行車賽。”
“這太糟糕了。我因為沒笑就被捕了,我可是帕金森癥患者啊。”
沃斯福德隨后向警察要了一份免罪聲明。逮捕他的警察已經(jīng)向他道歉。