I did, later, speak to a free lawyer via CAB (over the phone). The guy asked if I had been drinking. I told him that I was waiting for the cab after having been in the John Bull pub in Chiswick. He said that if it goes to court, they will say that you were drunk and disorderly and that on the balance of probability the judge or jury will automatically believe the police.
The wrist- a week later I went to my GP because I kept getting what felt like electric shocks, often resulting in my dropping things. The locum GP told me that he had covered Wandsworth police station around the time that they transitioned over to the non-chain based hand cuffs. It was him whom asked me to escalate things.
Being thrown in a cell for no reason is annoying, but as soon as we go the police station, I politely (pleadingly- like a girlie) asked them to loosen my left wrist. Actually, I initially asked them pull over to loosen them whilst I was in the police car. They told me that I deserved it for putting the traffic cone in the road. I hadn't, at the time, realised that the car journey was only about 300 metres. On arriving at the police station, I told them that it was hurting and added that my right wrist was fine. I didn't ask them to remove the cuffs, simply to loosen the one on my left wrist until they eventually uncuff me. They ignored me for as long as possible... and then removed the cuff from the wrist that they knew didn't hurt first.
This was the mid 90's.
