Armed police force officers detained members of Brixton based band, The Thirst alongside, their manager and a friend shortly after their performance in Chasetown, near Cannock, on 21 November.

Band manager Kingsley Slater who was shouted at and searched whilst forced against a wall said;

“I heard a helicopter, I heard some dogs and I could see a lot of activity,”

“I saw the lead singer with his hands in the air.”

Arrested at gunpoint for a crime they did not commit

False allegation, malicious intent

The innocent band members spoke to the media about being thrown to the floor, handcuffed with guns pointing at their heads. An estimated 30 officers were sent to the scene after being informed that a firearm had been spotted by a council CCTV operator monitoring a car park.

The allegation was untrue. No weapon was present.
The police claim that they will remove the fingerprint and DNA details of the band members from their records.

Insp Dave Challinor said the six men faced no further action but that police had responded “appropriately and proportionately.”