THE SLEEPING conditions of police sent to London to protect American President, Donald Trump, during his state visit last week were branded an ‘absolute disgrace’ by West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
Thousands of extra officers were sent to the nation’s capital – including hundreds from West Midlands Police – for three nights as the President made his first official visit to the UK.
Officers were forced to sleep on camp beds, as pictures of the thousands of people who took to the streets across the country beamed across the world
Hundreds of beds were seen squeezed into a sports hall, while groups of female officers had been told to get their heads down on mats in a squash court after working 12-hour shifts.
Mr Jamieson, said on Thursday (July 12): “The conditions some West Midlands Police officers being forced to endure is an absolute disgrace.
“No officer should be made to sleep on a camp bed, inches from the floor, in a sports hall with scores of colleagues only metres apart after a 12 hour shift.
“Some female officers even had to sleep on mats in glass fronted squash courts.
“The officers were in the South East to keep the President of the United States safe. They weren’t asking for luxury accommodation, but the least we can do is put them up in a room with a proper bed.
“Forces up and down the country have struggled with cuts for years. My fear is that local police forces have taken the decision to put some of our officers up in this way because the government isn’t stepping forward to pick up the tab for accommodation.”
John Apter, chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, tweeted a picture of the accommodation on offer to officers and said: “Prisoners arrested last night will have had better accommodation than those #police officers ensuring the Presidential visit runs smoothly. @PoliceChiefs who talk well-being of their people need to take a long hard look at this. This is not acceptable.”
However officers were given more appropriate accommodation for the second and third night.
Mr Jamieson tweeted on Friday (July 13): “Delighted to say our WMPolice officers won’t be spending a 2nd night on camp beds in a sports hall as they work hard to keep the public and @POTUS [President of the US] safe.
“Raised this issue with Dave Thompson [West Midlands Police Chief Constable] and he didn’t hesitate to fix it.”
