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Commuter mistakenly arrested by armed police was 'shocked and scared'
An innocent commuter who was detained by police at gunpoint in a shocking case of mistaken identity has described how he "stepped off the train and into a really bad dream".
Nzube Udezue, a 21-year-old recent graduate from Oxford University, was ordered to the ground, handcuffed and arrested by a team of armed police officers at Bournemouth station on Saturday, in front of dozens of fellow travellers.
A spokesman for Dorset police insisted last night that the man they had mistakenly detained had nothing more to say on the matter.
But writing on his blog, Udezue, a computer science student known to friends by his rap name, Zuby, painted a very different picture.
Udezue said officers explained that - as a black man wearing a black T-shirt with orange writing - he matched the description of a man involved in a suspected firearms incident, which took place in another part of the country, earlier in the day.
"When I woke up this Saturday morning, I could happily say that I'd managed to get through (almost) 22 years of my life without any real incident with the police. I could also say that I'd never had a gun pointed at me," he said.
"Little did I know that by 6.1
Udezue's Conservative MP, Tobias Ellwood, said today that he stands by the action of police, pointing out that his constituent had not made any formal complaint about his treatment.
"They do a very difficult job and of course there is heightened security in the UK," he said.
"There seems to be an understanding that [Udezue] recognises that these things can happen."
He added: "I think it is important that police don't fear stepping in for fear of reprisals if they get the wrong person."
Udezue, whose social networking page was today filled with messages of support, said the ordeal had left him feeling "shocked, confused, scared and embarrassed all at the same time".
A dramatic image of the moment he was ordered to the ground was released yesterday, prompting comparisons with the case of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man mistakenly shot dead by police after the failed July 21 bomb attacks. But Udezue's identity had previously not been known.
Witnesses had described how a team of ten officers, some armed, blocked off the exits as the train approached before arresting Udezue.
In a statement, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said yesterday it deemed the actions of Dorset police "appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances".
Rather than mount a full investigation, the IPCC decided it would merely "supervise" Dorset police's internal inquiry. No other action would be taken and there had been no official complaint made, a spokesman said.
Udezue, who has lived for much of his life in Saudi Arabia and is described by friends as a committed Christian, was apprehended after being wrongly identified by a British Transport Police officer.
The firearm incident that promoted Hampshire police to circulate a description of a possible "suspect" to other forces took place at a shopping centre in Basingstoke. Udezue boarded his train in Southampton, 32 miles (52 km) away.
"The description was passed through Hampshire, Dorset and the British Transport Police and boom," Udezue said, "a plain clothes officer sees me sitting on the train (happily listening to my iPod and unaware of my impending doom), alerts HQ that 'the gunman is on the train' (the gunman?)"
Udezue, a former public school student and up-and-coming hip-hop artist profiled in Oxford University's student newspaper, had spent Saturday promoting and selling his music in Southampton and then decided to return to his home in Bournemouth.
"At 5.24pm, I hopped onto the train back to Bournemouth, looking forward to a hardcore gym session. At 6.09pm, the train pulls into Bournemouth station and all hell is about to break loose. The next 30 seconds was like a blur."
He recalled officers shouting at him to get on the floor and place his hands behind his head. "It took me a couple of seconds to realise that it was me all those guns were aimed at."
"Next thing you know I'm being led to the staffroom at the station where they search me again and tell me that I'm under arrest for allegedly assaulting someone with a firearm in Basingstoke ... Basingstoke?"
"Again, I try to explain to them that they've got the wrong person and even show them my return ticket from Southampton to Bournemouth, but they insist on marching me out of the station, cuffed like I'm an armed convict, and into their police car."
He continued: "I still think that I'm having a bad dream as I continuously explain to them that I'm really just an innocent musician and university graduate (with no criminal record) and that this whole thing is one really big mistake. They're still not convinced though. They radio someone and say that 'the suspect has been apprehended'."
Udezue, who has not spoken publicly about the experience, concluded on his blog that he had been traumatised. "And to think that I was gonna wear a blue T-shirt this morning."
Dorset police said in a statement that "no shots were fired and no-one was injured" during the incident.
"Dorset police is continuing to provide on-going support to the innocent man - as well as his family - after the appointment of a family liaison officer.
The arrested 21-year old Bournemouth man was taken to Bournemouth police station but it quickly became clear that it was a case of mistaken identity and the innocent man was released immediately."
An innocent commuter who was detained by police at gunpoint in a shocking case of mistaken identity has described how he "stepped off the train and into a really bad dream".
Nzube Udezue, a 21-year-old recent graduate from Oxford University, was ordered to the ground, handcuffed and arrested by a team of armed police officers at Bournemouth station on Saturday, in front of dozens of fellow travellers.
A spokesman for Dorset police insisted last night that the man they had mistakenly detained had nothing more to say on the matter.
But writing on his blog, Udezue, a computer science student known to friends by his rap name, Zuby, painted a very different picture.
Udezue said officers explained that - as a black man wearing a black T-shirt with orange writing - he matched the description of a man involved in a suspected firearms incident, which took place in another part of the country, earlier in the day.
"When I woke up this Saturday morning, I could happily say that I'd managed to get through (almost) 22 years of my life without any real incident with the police. I could also say that I'd never had a gun pointed at me," he said.
"Little did I know that by 6.1
Udezue's Conservative MP, Tobias Ellwood, said today that he stands by the action of police, pointing out that his constituent had not made any formal complaint about his treatment.
"They do a very difficult job and of course there is heightened security in the UK," he said.
"There seems to be an understanding that [Udezue] recognises that these things can happen."
He added: "I think it is important that police don't fear stepping in for fear of reprisals if they get the wrong person."
Udezue, whose social networking page was today filled with messages of support, said the ordeal had left him feeling "shocked, confused, scared and embarrassed all at the same time".
A dramatic image of the moment he was ordered to the ground was released yesterday, prompting comparisons with the case of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man mistakenly shot dead by police after the failed July 21 bomb attacks. But Udezue's identity had previously not been known.
Witnesses had described how a team of ten officers, some armed, blocked off the exits as the train approached before arresting Udezue.
In a statement, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said yesterday it deemed the actions of Dorset police "appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances".
Rather than mount a full investigation, the IPCC decided it would merely "supervise" Dorset police's internal inquiry. No other action would be taken and there had been no official complaint made, a spokesman said.
Udezue, who has lived for much of his life in Saudi Arabia and is described by friends as a committed Christian, was apprehended after being wrongly identified by a British Transport Police officer.
The firearm incident that promoted Hampshire police to circulate a description of a possible "suspect" to other forces took place at a shopping centre in Basingstoke. Udezue boarded his train in Southampton, 32 miles (52 km) away.
"The description was passed through Hampshire, Dorset and the British Transport Police and boom," Udezue said, "a plain clothes officer sees me sitting on the train (happily listening to my iPod and unaware of my impending doom), alerts HQ that 'the gunman is on the train' (the gunman?)"
Udezue, a former public school student and up-and-coming hip-hop artist profiled in Oxford University's student newspaper, had spent Saturday promoting and selling his music in Southampton and then decided to return to his home in Bournemouth.
"At 5.24pm, I hopped onto the train back to Bournemouth, looking forward to a hardcore gym session. At 6.09pm, the train pulls into Bournemouth station and all hell is about to break loose. The next 30 seconds was like a blur."
He recalled officers shouting at him to get on the floor and place his hands behind his head. "It took me a couple of seconds to realise that it was me all those guns were aimed at."
"Next thing you know I'm being led to the staffroom at the station where they search me again and tell me that I'm under arrest for allegedly assaulting someone with a firearm in Basingstoke ... Basingstoke?"
"Again, I try to explain to them that they've got the wrong person and even show them my return ticket from Southampton to Bournemouth, but they insist on marching me out of the station, cuffed like I'm an armed convict, and into their police car."
He continued: "I still think that I'm having a bad dream as I continuously explain to them that I'm really just an innocent musician and university graduate (with no criminal record) and that this whole thing is one really big mistake. They're still not convinced though. They radio someone and say that 'the suspect has been apprehended'."
Udezue, who has not spoken publicly about the experience, concluded on his blog that he had been traumatised. "And to think that I was gonna wear a blue T-shirt this morning."
Dorset police said in a statement that "no shots were fired and no-one was injured" during the incident.
"Dorset police is continuing to provide on-going support to the innocent man - as well as his family - after the appointment of a family liaison officer.
The arrested 21-year old Bournemouth man was taken to Bournemouth police station but it quickly became clear that it was a case of mistaken identity and the innocent man was released immediately."
All I need to know about him.
