Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine were arrested in front of their daughter, aged three, after complaining about their other daughter’s school in a WhatsApp groupchat
A couple who were arrested in front of their young daughter after having moaned about their kid’s school on WhatsApp have spoken out on their nightmare.
Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine were locked up for a whopping 11 hours after cops arrested them both on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications. Six officers came to their home in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, leaving their “terrified” three-year-old, Francesa, in tears.
Rosalind, aged 46, said she made desperate pleas to make sure her nine-year-old daughter, who was at school at the time, was alright. She said: “There was a moment where I honestly thought I wanted to die because I couldn’t cope with losing her… Until that moment, I was convinced Sascha was dead.”
After a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary chucked out the case against the couple. Maxie, 50, likened the police response to “the sort of treatment you might expect for a drugs bust or a terrorism cell… It was hard to shake off the sense that I was living in a police state… These were private conversations, at no point abusive or even offensive, on email and WhatsApp,” reports the Mirror.
Hertfordshire Police stood by the decision to send officers but admitted the situation could have been approached differently. It also acknowledged there was “insufficient evidence” to continue the investigation.
Maxie, who works as a radio producer, wasn’t taken aback by the outcome. He explained to Mail Online that he had raised concerns in a WhatsApp group of about 15 parents regarding the recruitment process for a new headteacher at Cowley Hill School following the incumbent’s retirement announcement.
The school retaliated with a letter warning parents against negative social media chatter about the institution, threatening repercussions if ignored.
Rosalind, who has been with Maxie since 2006, thought the school’s reaction was excessive, stating: “In my opinion, that was a bit over the top because it’s not really for school to tell parents what to say in private.”
Her views, shared on WhatsApp, were the catalyst. She messaged: “Can you imagine what the ‘action’ is? Hello, 999, one of the school mums said something mean about me in a school mum WhatsApp group. Please can you arrest them?'”.
The message sparked a row with the school, leading to cops showing up at the family’s doorstep about five months after the contentious text was sent. “I felt like I was in a terrible nightmare. I did not know how it had come to this,” said the mum.
A spokesperson for Cowley Hill Primary School said: “We sought advice from the police following a high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts from two parents, as this was becoming upsetting for staff, parents and governors.”
They added: “We’re always happy for parents to raise concerns, but we do ask that they do this in a suitable way, and in line with the school’s published complaints procedure.”
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