A MUM was arrested for “confiscating her kids' iPads” – leaving her “traumatised and catatonic” following the seven-hour ordeal behind bars.
Vanessa Brown, 50, was hauled into a cell at Staines station, , on March 26 after being accused of stealing the two devices.
Cops had tracked the devices to the history teacher's house in Cobham.
However, it later emerged they belonged to Vanessa's two daughters, admitted Surrey Police – and had been confiscated to allow them to focus on schoolwork.
Speaking to LBC, the mum-of-two said she had been left in a “catatonic state” after the experience – and had suffered “unspeakable devastation and trauma”.
She added: “I find it quite traumatic even talking about this now.
“At no point did they [the officers] think to themselves, ‘Oh, this is a little bit of an overreaction for a moment, confiscating temporarily her iPads and popping over to her mum's to have a coffee’. It was just a complete overreaction.
“It was thoroughly unprofessional. They were speaking to my mother, who is in her 80s, like she was a criminal.”
Vanessa was searched and had fingerprints and custody shots taken during the hours-long ordeal.
Officers were also sent to her kids' school, where they were hauled out of class for questioning.
Vanessa was finally returned to her mum's house 12 hours after the arrest – but was further devastated to learn that her bail conditions would see her miss Mother's Day in a few days' time.
Calls are now rising for the force to apologise over the incident – amid criticism that over 24 hours were taken to determine the mum's innocence.
Former Police and Commissioner Anthony Stansfield blamed it on “overzealousness at a junior level” – which should have been stopped by the local inspector.
A spokesperson for Surrey Police told LBC that the force had originally been alerted to a potential theft by a man in his 40s – before attending a property “where the occupant was questioned about the iPads and denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.”
They added: “However, a tracking device on the iPads showed that they were at the address and a 50-year-old woman from Cobham was arrested on suspicion of theft. A search was then carried out using post-arrest powers and the iPads were located.
“The woman was subsequently released on conditional bail while further enquiries were carried out. The police bail conditions included not speaking to her daughters, who were connected to the investigation, while officers carried out their enquiries.
“Following these enquiries, officers discovered that the iPads belonged to the woman’s children and that she was entitled to confiscate items from her own children.”;
