Police investigate security guard ‘who tried to push man with electronic implant through metal detector’

Police are investigating claims that a security guard tried to force a disabled man through a metal detector outside a sports stadium, even though he had been told he had an electronic implant and it could cause him serious injury.

Oliver Trowell was on his way to watch the New York Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies at the London Stadium in east London, as part of the Major League Baseball world tour, when the incident took place.

Police are now investigating the alleged assault.

As he approached the Olympic Park stadium, Trowell told a security guard he had an implanted device that provides deep brain stimulation through electrodes, due to a neurological condition, and therefore could not walk through a metal detector.

He showed the guard a card supplied by the implant’s manufacturer, which explained that walking through a metal detector could interfere with the technology or even cause him a neurological injury, so he would need to be searched by hand instead.

But the guard ignored the card, rejected what Trowell was telling him, and insisted that he must walk through the metal detector.

Trowell then told the guard he was going to speak to a more senior guard on the other side of the scanner.

When he attempted to do so, the first guard grabbed him and began pushing him towards the metal detector gate.

Trowell told Disability News Service (DNS): “For him to have succeeded could have potentially led to a serious incident in which my physical health would have been severely impacted.”

They were tussling for about a minute while Trowell tried to prevent himself being forced through the metal detector.

He eventually managed to show the second security guard his card.

The second guard then ordered his colleague to stop pushing Trowell, and he was finally allowed to enter the stadium.

Although he was able to enter the London Stadium and watch the game on 8 June (pictured), he said the incident “pretty much ruined the day for me, as I was constantly worried some damage or interference may have occurred to my implant, in addition to the upset caused by being dealt with in such a way”.

He was also publicly embarrassed because there was a queue of about 100 people behind him who could see what was happening.

He said: “I feel very upset about it, which is why I have not let it go.”

Now he wants to raise awareness of the kind of discrimination that people with implants frequently face in similar situations.

His partner joined him at the stadium an hour later and reassured him that they could take a taxi home to collect the device’s remote-control device and go to the hospital if needed, so they decided to stay and watch the game.

But he told DNS he was appalled by the discrimination he had experienced and wanted to push for better training for security guards so similar incidents do not happen to other people with sensitive medical implants.

He said other people with implants are “routinely being challenged even though they are presenting ID”, and he added: “It’s something that happens all the time to people with implants.”

But he is also frustrated that the stadium did not immediately acknowledge what happened and promise to improve the training of its security guards.

He said he has been told by police that the incident is being investigated as an allegation of common assault, with disability as an aggravating factor.

A Met police spokesperson told DNS that they had “received a report of an assault and the investigation remains ongoing”.

Trowell has also lodged a complaint with London Stadium.

London Stadium had not responded to requests to comment by 11am today (Thursday).

Picture by Oliver Trowell

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