The Court held that police officers directing a person to stand and assume a search position, even in a calm tone, does not constitute seeking consent under s 34A LEPRA or at common law; compliance with police directions in the presence of uniformed officers does not equate to voluntary consent. However, both searches were lawful under s 23(1) LEPRA because recent MobiPol warnings about the plaintiff carrying knives, combined with prior police interactions, provided reasonable grounds for suspicion that the plaintiff had a dangerous implement, even where a search six days earlier had yielded nothing. The Court noted but did not resolve the contested question of whether absence of consent is an element of battery or a defence to be proved by the defendant.
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