A Manchester mother is demanding an apology from the local police force for sending officers in a riot van to check that her 12 year-old daughter was self-isolating. The young girl was left “petrified” after officers shouted through the house to see if she had been following the rules, according to her mother. The home was visited twice, leading the girl to believe “she was going to get arrested at any moment”. The MailOnline has the story.
Officers visited the home of Kathryn Crook in Middleton, Greater Manchester, to check that Charlotte, 12, was adhering to Covid guidance after catching the virus.
Ms Crook, 45, says her daughter was terrified by the experience, alleging the behaviour of Rochdale Public Health Officers and Greater Manchester Police was “inappropriate and heavy-handed”.
She is now urging those involved to apologise for what she says was “overkill”.
Officers first visited the family home on July 11th and asked to speak directly to Charlotte, before quizzing her mother on whether she was self-isolating.
Ms Crook said: “They would not tell me and my husband why they wanted to speak to my daughter.
“I suggested again that she was only 12 and as her mother, I should be the one they should speak to.
“My daughter by this time was stood behind me crouching thinking she had done something wrong and was petrified.
“The female police officer who stood at our door then proceeded to shout through to my daughter to check she had been isolating.
“I spent Monday trying to find out why this had happened only to be told by Rochdale Public Health Department that they had authorised this to happen.”
The furious mother later wrote to her MP Chris Clarkson to express her concern, and his office is now investigating the incident.
She added: “During Monday we also received a letter addressed to our daughter from Rochdale council stating that she must get in touch with them as a matter of urgency about her isolating.
“I called the phone line and they said it was standard practice, even though the leaflet read as if aimed at an adult. I was also told the person who had signed it no longer works there.”
Ms Crook says the family then received another visit from GMP on June 12th.
“We settled down and just after 9pm got a knock at the door,” she said.
“It was the police again, this time in a riot van and coming to ‘check’ again that my daughter was isolating.
“Me and my husband were so annoyed by this. The neighbours had also seen all of this and came out to show their support for us.
“They could see what had happened and a riot van in the street is a bit much. This time, however, the policeman was polite and was much more forthcoming than the two that had been the previous night.
“It was terribly upsetting again for my daughter and she had another meltdown again thinking the police were going to arrest her.”
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