A boxer has recounted a harrowing encounter with the police, alleging that she was chased and had a taser aimed at her face while cycling to her mother’s home in North Liverpool after a training session. Charlotte Powell, who suffered injuries to her face and shoulder, claims the incident occurred when she lost control of her pedal assist bike as officers began ‘following her’ along Priory Road, then Townsend Lane, and finally Pinehurst Avenue.
The 25 year old was returning from a workout around 11:40 am on Thursday, September 19, when she says a police car started tailing her, a detail she initially missed until she turned onto Pinehurst Avenue in Clubmoor, where her mother resides.
As she navigated Pinehurst Avenue, Charlotte alleges she briefly crossed to the opposite side of the road en route to Westcombe Road but toppled from her bike while rounding the corner. Lying on the ground at the junction of Pinehurst Avenue and Westcombe Road, she claims an officer “ran towards her holding a taser.”
Charlotte, who is set to compete against Emma Ruegg for the Commonwealth silver super flyweight title on Saturday, November 16, in Manchester, shared her story with the ECHO: “I was riding home from the gym on the Thursday morning and I had my beats [headphones] over my ears and had a hat on. I noticed the police car and before I knew it they started following me and I’ve come off my bike.”
“As I’m lying there I can see this police officer running at me over the grass verge on Pinehurst Avenue with something yellow in his hand. I’m lying there thinking ‘what’s yellow? It’s not a gun or a baton, what could he be holding? ‘” Charlotte, who trains at Golden Gloves in Toxteth, had her hood up while riding her bike, and claims an officer said she “looked like a drug dealer”. Merseyside Police confirmed an electric bike had been seized, explaining that Charlotte is required to insure the bike to drive it on public roads, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The force reported no injuries from the incident. A spokesperson for Merseyside Police also confirmed a taser was drawn but not used.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police told the ECHO: “We can confirm an electric motorbike was seized after a woman was seen riding carelessly in Anfield on Thursday 19 September. The woman was riding against the flow of traffic on Pinehurst Avenue, and then fell off the electric motorbike as she turned a corner going into a side road while the police car was at a distance on the other side of the carriageway and driving with the flow of traffic.
“Officers stopped the rider and they were detained. She has been reported for having no insurance and the electric motorbike was seized by the officer. We received no report of any injuries from incident.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.