Police apologise to rock band The Thirst over gunpoint arrest after Cannock gig
Members of a rock band who were arrested at gunpoint by armed Staffordshire Police officers after a mistake by a CCTV operator have received letters of apology.
The four members of The Thirst, from Brixton, south London, will also have their fingerprints and DNA removed from police records after the force apologised unreservedly to the men.
Officers detained the band members, their manager and a friend shortly after a gig at a pub in Chasetown, near Cannock, on November 21.
Up to 30 officers are reported to have been sent to the scene after being informed that a firearm had been spotted by a council CCTV operator monitoring a car park.
In the letter of apology, Staffordshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Jane Sawyers conceded that the force had "clearly got this wrong" and also accepted that the sighting of a handgun had been a mistake.
Band members have spoken of their astonishment at the police swoop as they attempted to start their vehicle using jump leads.
The band's bass player, Kwame Cofi-Agyeman, told The Times he had a gun pressed against his neck during the ordeal and had been offered just a glass of water during 15 hours in custody.
"There were guns, lights, dogs, a helicopter and people shouting 'down on the bloody ground'. It was like something out of a film," he said.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: "We had a call from council CCTV operators who said they had seen two vehicles and people acting suspiciously in a car park in High Street, Chasetown. It was in the belief - which we now know to be mistaken - that a firearm had been seen that we sent armed officers to the scene."
The spokesman said the six men were fully co-operative during their time in custody and had been released without charge.
