Black teenager 'sat on and handcuffed while buying shampoo'

The mother of a black teenager has called for a “full and thorough” investigation after she claims her son was thrown to the ground and handcuffed by security staff in a city centre store while he was shopping for shampoo.

Two children were detained at a Superdrug branch in Chichester, West Sussex, on Wednesday by civilian security staff before being arrested by Sussex Police.

Kirsty Buchanan, the mother of one of the boys, shared a video of the incident which went viral on Twitter, prompting widespread outrage.

She claims after her 15-year-old son was arrested police didn’t tell her where he was being held for several hours.

The clip appears to show a black boy being restrained by two civilian security staff, known as “rangers”. One of them put plastic handcuffs on him while the other knelt across his legs.

Ms Buchanan, who was previously a special adviser at Number 10 and the Ministry of Justice, told Sky News: “The boys were followed into the shop when my son went to buy some shampoo.

“My son was joking with the rangers about why they were following him when they snapped.

“They grabbed his arm, threw him on the floor, sat on him and tied his hands with plastic handcuffs.

“They pulled his arms up and my son was screaming that it hurt.”

The civilian security staff are employed by Chichester Business Improvement District (BID).

Ms Buchanan said she wanted to know what due diligence is carried out before staff are hired and what training they receive.

She added: “When Sussex Police arrived it was my son and the other boy who were arrested even though my son had been subjected to an unprovoked assault.

“There needs to be a full and thorough investigation into the role and remit of these rangers and their use in our high streets, and a full investigation into the handling of this matter by Sussex Police.”

She tweeted this morning to say that her son had been released from custody at 1.15am after what she described as an “incredibly stressful day”.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News she was “troubled” by the video and said there were “serious questions that need to be answered” about the incident.

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She said: “Particularly for parents not to know what is happening when a child is being arrested in that way, I do think questions need to be answered.”

“You have to make sure that people are treated fairly, and children in particular are treated fairly and properly by the police and also by community rangers as well,” she added.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “We are aware of a video circulating on social media of a teenager being detained by civilian security staff in Chichester.

“Police were called to the store in East Street shortly after 3.30pm to reports of a group of teenagers involved in an altercation.

“A shopworker also reported being assaulted.

“Officers attended the scene and three teenagers had been detained by civilian security staff.

“A 15-year-old boy from Worthing and a 16-year-old boy from Chichester were arrested by police on suspicion of assault.

“They remain in police custody pending urgent inquiries, supported by appropriate adults.

“Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what happened.”

Superdrug tweeted: “An incident occurred today in our Chichester store between Chichester BID rangers and a group of young males they were monitoring.

“Unfortunately female staff were also assaulted. This is now a police matter and we are offering our full assistance to Sussex Police.”

Chichester BID’s website states it will “deliver a team of rangers, in partnership with Chichester City Council, that are the eyes and ears on the street and a reassuring presence for those in the front line of petty crime”.

A Chichester District Council spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of an incident that took place in Chichester city today and we want to clarify that no Chichester District Council staff were involved.”

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