Sorry In Advance

as this is just a rant!

On Friday night my little brother was out with a female friend and some mates and after the pub shut they went to sit on some common ground and have a couple of beers. The young lady (who was not drinking) had parked her car close by and very soon after they'd all settle down they spotted two guys smashing her new clio up with baseball bats.

She ran over followed by one of the lads (seemed like the thing to do at the time) and was promptly beaten to the ground with a bat. When my brother arrived to defend her he was repeatedly hit in the head with the bat then his elbow and leg.

while this was going on the girl managed to call the police who arrived rapidly and arrested the two guys.

My brother and the young lady are now out of hospital and recuperating and she has some minor injuries but mainly just heavy bruising fortunately, but my brother has 7 stitches and a large dent in his temple a smashed elbow which is likely to need surgery and stitches up his leg.

The police have now released the 2 men without charge due to lack of evidence even though they were caught in the act and apparently there are no finger prints on the bat although the blood on the bat can be matched to that from my brother. The two blokes said they had stopped to help when they saw the incident occuring!

According to the police they know who the men are and the incident was drug related and a case of mistaken identity but can do nothing about it.

Can someone please tell me what is wrong with this world!

As I said apologies for the rant but had to get it off my chest and there seemed little else I could do.

Im speechless.

Can they press civil charges? i think legal advice is needed here.

i cant see how there is a lack of evidence your brother and the girl are victims/witnesses and must surely have pointed out the two culprits to the police. english law is different to scottish law but the two guys would have been arrested and charged with assault because of the evidence of the two witnesses even if there was no prints on the bat

[Edited on 16/7/07 by davie h]

If the police won't take a case I beleive everyone has the right to start civil proceedings.

Absolutely unbelievable, but to be honest it doesn't even surprise me any more - this country seems to be going down the pan more rapidly every day!

I'm afraid I know nothing about the legal side but I hope you manage to get it all resolved and those two scumbags get locked up.

Pete

I'm speechless m8... BL00DY SPEECHLESS!!!

I would certainly get some legal advice about this... it beggars belief to think that the two victims could have been much worse off, yet the two potential murderers walk Scot Free...

It makes me shudder to think that speeding motorists get more attention/convistions than murderers in this country now...

Unbelievable!

Sorry to hear about this - but I sincerely hope you get it sorted out...

Steve

1) Complain to the Chief Constable.
2) Complain to the Police Complaints Authority.
3) Complain to the Home Office.
4) Complain to the press.
5) Make injury claims to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Soft tissue damage alone (a bruise) is worth £1,000 now)
6) Ask if someone has had 'a bung'.

They should have been charged with; criminal damage, assault with a deadly weapon, malicious wounding, etc.

It fair makes you want to puke!


[Edited on 16/7/07 by Confused but excited.]

Keep pushing it, failing that i'm sure a nice copper would give you the scrotes addresses.
My mates a copper and gets so pissed off when the criminal protection service f*cks them over. He's been known to leave files open where inquistive eyes may read something lol.

Looks like if your in the Netherlands.

But, yes it is sad to know the law is not with normal people.

It is normal to lie and cheat if you are a criminal.

Sorry to hear about that mate, it's the sort of thing that just shouldn't happen. I too have heard of coppers leaving bits of paper around with a certasin address on it, after a bloke mowed a mate down after 12 pints! He got away with it, so the parents complained, and the desk sergeant walked up, left abit of paper on the desk and wlked off, whilst telling them not to look at it! I'll leave the rest up to you, but the jury cleared them of any further charges............

okay having spoken to the police again it appears that these guys can afford a good brief and have been told all the right things to say.

The only people who have come forward so far are my brother and the girl who were attacked the attackers say they stopped to help and so it's a case of my brother confusing them with the attackers!

They were covered in glass from smashing the car up but this has been explained away by the arresting officers screwing up and making them sit on the ground while waiting to be taken away.

The bat was found a "few" yards away and due to no finger prints being on the bat can't be connected to the attackers.

On the point of civil suit is this not hopeless if the police feel they can't prove anything how am I supposed to?

All comments and help are appreciated as I'm at my wits end!

A criminal prosecution requires that the conviction is made 'beyond reasonable doubt' whilst a civil prosecution requires 'on the balance of probabilities'.

I would very quickly try and find out if there are any cctv cameras in the area, also put notices up asking for witnesses who may have seen something.

Also, going to the local press is a good start, along with your MP, and do push for a complaint against the police - poor policing is not an excuse for lack of convictions.

Hope they both feel better soon

Pete

I think you'd have a good chance of winning a civil case, but whilst it's a sad state of affairs you need to think about the liklihood of 'repercussions'; these do not sound like very nice people