This is the moment a Met Police officer threatens to arrest a Christian gospel preacher who was accused of a hate crime.
In a video posted to YouTube, a group of preachers can be heard protesting their innocence to officers after a member of the public claimed they had made homophobic comments.
The person who is videoing the officers says: ‘All we’re doing is preaching our religion. We’ve been preaching about the gospel and Jesus Christ [and what] the Bible says in the book of John, chapter three verse 16.
The footage begins with the preacher explaining to the officers what they were preaching
A second officer explains that a member of the public phoned the police regarding homophobic comments
‘For God’s love of the world he gave his one and only son so that whoever, whatever person – homosexual, drunk, liar or a prostitute – believes in him shall not perish and have everlasting life.’
However, as the preacher continues to ask for clarification regarding the situation, two separate officers threaten to arrest him unless he provided his details.
One officer can be heard at the beginning saying: ‘Currently there’s allegations of a hate crime, a public order offence, section 4a [and] allegations of homophobia.
‘I’ve not heard anything, I’m not saying I’ve heard anything. Someone’s called us. It might be completely untrue or true.
‘[But] if I do walk away and I see offences, and the victim wants to press charges… I could have failed a potential victim.
They add: ‘If you don’t give me your name or address I have grounds to arrest you. It’s code of practice.’
A second officer similarly says there has been an allegation of a hate crime which has caused ‘alarm or distress in a public space’.
They then demand: ‘Provide me your name now or you will be arrested. You can spend the night in a cell and we can do it that way.’
It comes just weeks after the Met was slated over footage of five police officers trying to shut down a Gospel singer as she performed to fans on Oxford Street.
A third officer threatened to arrest the preachers if they did not provide their details
Here is a look at one of the preachers who is recording the police officers
Harmonie London, 20, had been singing outside John Lewis’ flagship store in London on Sunday when she was approached by volunteer police officer Maya Hadzhipetkova who wrongly told the busker she could not ‘sing church songs outside of church grounds’.
Scotland Yard have since apologised for the mishap, explaining that the supposed breach was due to unlicensed busking rather than the content of the songs she was singing, adding that Hadzhipetkova is being investigated.
A clip of the incident shows there were five other constables at the scene, with one of the cops being heckled by a passer-by who asked why officers were not spending their time ‘catching murderers, rapists, killers’ instead.
Onlookers slammed the Metropolitan Police for ‘wasting taxpayers money’ and police resources, demanding an explanation for why officers threatened to seize Harmonie’s equipment.
Harmonie London, 20, (pictured) had been singing outside John Lewis’ flagship store in London on Sunday when she was approached by volunteer police officer Maya Hadzhipetkova
Scotland Yard have since apologised for the mishap, explaining that the supposed breach was due to unlicensed busking
The Christian singer told MailOnline tonight she felt ‘threatened’ by the five officers adding that it was a ‘waste of police resources’ when the force continues to ‘say they are underfunded and that crime is very high in London’.
Throughout the new clip a police officer is approached by Harmonie’s videographer for sounding ‘very silly’ to which the male constables responds: ‘Hello YouTube, I’m apparently sounding very silly’.
The woman is then heard telling the officer: ‘I would prefer you use our taxpayers money to catch murderers, rapists, paedophiles but you’re here after a busker which is really a council problem not yours.
‘All these officers are here wasting taxpayers money. This is an embarrassment for you and a waste of police time. And I don’t think all police officers here are happy with this.’
To which the unnamed officer replied: ‘I am not after anyone, she’s leaving, I am happy with that. If you were to walk away and stop engaging me in conversation I would walk away too. You asked me to speak with you.’
When the filmer insists again that the officers ‘should be catching murderers, rapists, killers’ instead of stopping buskers on the streets, the officer sarcastically quips back: ‘In which case next time I hear about a murder, I’ll go to it.’
