Cedrick Kanza being held on the ground in handcuffs in Castlehaven Road

POLICE have been accused of using excessive force during a botched drug bust in Camden Town.

Cedrick Kanza, 36, said he was left bleeding and with shoulder injuries while being arrested for obstructing an officer and possession of cannabis in Castlehaven Road on April 20.

He attended Wood Green Crown Court on September 1 after pleading not guilty in Highbury Magistrates’ Court on July 31.

At Wood Green last week he discovered both charges had been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service who said in a statement there was “no realistic prospect of conviction”.

Distressing footage of the arrest shows a small crowd gathering around as Mr Kanza is grappled by two officers while complaining about pressure on his neck and repeating “I am not resisting”.

This week Mr Kanza spoke about how his arrest had dented his trust in the police force he had once wanted to join as a young man growing up in Camden.

He also spoke about how more could be done to educate young people who get locked into a life of drug dealing on the streets around Camden Town.

“During the arrest I was subjected to exces­sive force, which led to a painful injury in my right shoulder and lasting trauma. I was treated aggressively and unjustly – despite offering no resistance.” He added: “The situ­ation has caused me not only reputational damage, but also serious physical and emotional harm.”

Cedrick Kanza

Mr Kanza grew up in foster care in Camden Town after coming to this country from Angola as a young boy, going to St Aloysius secondary school.

Now aged 36, he said he had worked for a company sub-contracted to deliver parcels nation­wide. He also worked doing carpeting, flooring and decorating – fitting kitchens and “most of the appliances you have in your house”, he said.

He said: “I came to England to get a better life and this is what I am trying to do. But now when I walk around Camden, I feel very depressed. I feel like it has knocked down my confidence. “I grew up here. I don’t believe all the police are bad. We need police out there. I wanted to join the force myself in 2007. I felt we have the best police in the world. But now I feel embarrassed for the force because of this sort of thing that is affecting the trust in the young black community.”

He said he felt as if police “are expecting me to be selling drugs”, adding: “I know a lot of young people around here, I have friends and family here. I always say to them, don’t get into selling drugs. You will make more from fitting bathrooms – and it’s risk-free. But they get into drugs because they don’t know themselves, they don’t know who they are. They can’t see themselves doing something better. That is why the jails are so full. In prison, they don’t get the right help – the right information about what else they can be doing with their lives.

“There must be a reason why so many young people are not taking their education so seriously. More could be done in schools perhaps, but also a lot of kids are brought up with both parents. That means that not all of them understand how it feels themselves to be both a mum and a dad. “When a child is raised with both parents, they are more likely to succeed.”

Mobile phone footage was taken of the arrest

Mr Kanza said the words police use during arrests were not always fully understood by young people, adding: “As a young black man, you might not understand what ‘obstructing’ an officer means. There needs to be better educa­tion about these things.”

Mr Kanza said he did not know how to write when he came to this country, around the age of nine. On his arrest, he said: “That day I was meeting a friend to do shopping in Camden Lock market for clothes. The car was parked in Hawley Road, near the bridge where the kids play basketball. The police drove past, I thought the body language was not looking good. So I pulled my phone out and started recording. They say ‘that’s him’. They were asking about the insurance of the car we were in. What happened after that was crazy.”

Mr Kanza said police ordered him to get out of the car and when he refused he was dragged out. Two officers can be seen grappling with him and he can be heard clearly repeating “Oh my gosh. What are you doing?”

He repeatedly states: “I am not resisting,” as officers tell him that he is.

“Get me a lawyer!”

Mr Kanza adds to a small crowd gather­ing who themselves begin urging officers to stop being “heavy handed” and questioning the grounds.

Yesterday (Wednesday), the Met said it had not had time to look into the case in full to get a sufficient response to the questions about the manner of the arrest sent by the New Journal on Tuesday.

A spokesperson said they would want to check footage from body-worn cameras to understand what had happened in the build up to the footage that has been published online.

The New Journal has seen details of the charge sheet, that initially said “two large wraps of heroin” were suspected to be found in the car.

But this was later downgraded to a small amount of cannabis resin.

The two charges against Mr Kanza were for “intentionally obstructing an officer in the exercise of his powers under the Drugs Misuse Act” and “possession of a quantity of cannabis resin”.

A statement from a senior prosecutor said: “I do not intend the proceedings to be continued. The reason for my decision is that there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction in relation to one charge and a prosecu­tion is not needed in the public interest in respect of the other charge.”