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BBC viewers were left horrified by the haunting stories told by innocent people who were framed by police in a new documentary Bent Coppers: Crossing The Line of Duty.
The eye-opening BBC Two documentary examines the corruption in the police in the 1970s and reveals a secret network of officers who were operating illegally throughout London.
This led to the formation of the first internal anti-corruption unit A10, which in turn, inspired the BBC drama Line of Duty.
As viewers tuned in to watch the real-life drama unfold on Wednesday night, they were left in disbelief over the spiteful tricks the police played on innocent citizens in a bid to frame them and put them behind bars.
In particular, Simon Simmons’ story struck a chord with viewers after he was sentenced to eight months behind bars after corrupt coppers took a disliking to him.
During the spine-tingling documentary, Simon explained that because he drove fancy cars, the police in his hometown of Clapham, South London, would constantly pull him over while he was driving.
(Image: BBC)
On one particular occasion, Simon was driving with a gang of friends and was hailed down by several police cars.
He was dragged from the car after bent coppers accused him of stealing a number of Royal Mail bags from a train which were full of expensive goods including a silver trophy.
When Simon was brought in for questioning, he realised from the get-go that the officers in question had it in for him, and would be above and beyond to use snide tricks that would frame him for the crime.
“It was all lies from start to finish,” Simon insisted.
(Image: BBC)
“They brought me in for questioning and the cop held up a silver trophy in front of me and then threw it right at me, hitting me in the chest.
“His tone then changed, and he demanded that I pick it up from the ground after it fell to the floor. By this time though, I was vexed, and I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m picking that up after being spoken to like that’.
Simon refused to pick up the trophy from the ground, and instead, to prove a point, he kicked it across the floor to the angry copper.
Afterward, Simon explained that the police officer called him ‘clever’, but it wasn’t until afterward that he realised why.
(Image: BBC)
The bent copper had demanded Simon to touch the trophy because his fingerprints would be on the surface of the item and he could be framed for the crime.
According to the documentary, this practice was popular among the corrupt police force as they would often force suspects to press fingerprints into stolen goods in a bid to frame them.
This would result in the innocent parties paying out of the crime which they did not commit in the first place or the police would use them as informants.
(Image: BBC)
Although Simon pleaded not guilty in court, he was sentenced to eight months in prison due to the evidence given from bent copper.
Due to society’s trust in the police at the time, his family did not believe that he was innocent.
In a heartbreaking scene, Simon admitted that his father’s distrust in him will haunt him until the day he dies.
He wiped away tears as he said: “It will haunt me for the rest of my life because I feel like I let my parents down. They didn’t believe me.
(Image: BBC)
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“They are dead now and I can never explain the truth to them.”
It will take 42 years for Simon’s name to be cleared and for the false prosecution to be overturned
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