An Afghanistan-background male has been arrested after staff and patients were assaulted with a metal bar at a hospital in north-west England.
Merseyside Police were quick to state the 20-year-old male arrested on suspicion of wounding, criminal damage, and affray on Tuesday is of Afghan heritage after officers were called to a hospital. The Liverpool Echo reports both staff and patients were assaulted, allegedly over a man being refused a medical appointment, with what was variously described as a “metal bar” or “crowbar”.
Five people received treatment for injuries, none of which were said to be life-threatening, at Newton Hospital in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside. A police spokesman said: “We were called to reports of a man behaving aggressively at the hospital who had assaulted a number of people.
“Officers attended immediately and the male was swiftly located and arrested. Paramedics attended at the hospital and carried out first aid to those who had been injured”.
The Times of London particularly noted the speed with which the heritage of the Afghan male suspect was asserted by police, stating this is was under new guidelines for police that the ethnicity or background of suspects should be disclosed quickly for high-profile attacks to head off rumours spreading on social media.
As reported in August at the time of the rule change:
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have issued interim guidance to forces across England and Wales, advising them to disclose more information about suspects in high-profile cases, rather than merely disclosing their age and location of arrest, London’s Daily Telegraph reports.
The guidance comes in the wake of controversy surrounding the alleged gang rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton last month. Police faced accusations that they tried to prevent the public from being informed… The head of ethics at the National Police Chiefs’ Council confirmed the updated guidance, saying that it is important to release more information to prevent “disinformation” from spurring public outbursts of violence.
In an update on Monday morning, Merseyside Police said that the suspect has been detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.
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