Tara | They wanted me naked

I was a teenager, asleep in my then boyfriend’s bed when they raided his house. Nothing was found, but I had been sleeping without any clothes on. I was ordered up and out of the bed and told to stand against the wall. As they searched his room, for over half an hour they told me to stand there naked. My clothes were in a heap on the floor. I asked over and over again, if I could get dressed. I asked if I could just put on my underwear. I asked if I could use the blanket to cover myself, but they told me no. Several male officers searched the room, two dragged my then boyfriend out and I was forced to stay in the room, alone, with the men as they searched and leered. They then called a female officer in to stand by me. I asked her if I could get dressed, she said no too. Over the years, I have often wondered why they wouldn’t allow me, no more than 18 years old, to get dressed. The only answer I can fathom is that they wanted me naked.


Constabulary: Metropolitan Police Service


Timespan: About 15 years ago


Did you report it to the police?: No


Your ethnicity: Mixed/Multiple Ethnicity

 

Illustration by Danny Noble

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