‘I can’t breathe,’ says British lawyer Dele Johnson, arrested by security for refusing to take off shoes

A lawyer on duty recounted a harrowing experience where he was restrained by “four or five” court security personnel despite his plea that he could not breathe.

Speaking to The Law Society Gazette, lawyer Dele Johnson described how security guards held him down with their knees after he refused a security screening to remove his shoes.

The incident occurred while Johnson was carrying out his duties at Stratford Magistrates Youth Court on Wednesday, May 1.

He told the Gazette that “for about 30 seconds he thought I was in danger.”

Johnson, 37, drew a parallel between his experience and the tragic incident involving George Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I never thought I would also say, ‘I can’t breathe,’” Mr. Johnson said. “I was just trying to do my job.”

The London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association has raised concerns and said lawyers may boycott the court if the guards allegedly involved in the attack on Johnson have not been suspended by private company OCS.

Johnson’s ID card was checked upon his arrival as a juvenile law attorney on Wednesday.

After briefly leaving the building for a cigarette break, he agreed to a search upon his return but refused to remove his shoes, leading to an altercation with four security guards who forcibly removed him.

Despite a defendant waiting to be represented, Johnson attempted to re-enter the building through a side door but was intercepted by “four or five” security guards.

During the court proceedings, Johnson stated that security personnel entered the courtroom. He had a feeling this probably had something to do with him.

After the court proceedings, Johnson left the courtroom and had conversations with fellow representatives.

Upon arrival, he was denied entry by security personnel.

Johnson said: “One of the security officers blocked me as I tried to go to court number 10.”

Johnson, who used the second door to get in, added: “He pushed me and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ I tried to go through the other door, and he pushed me and said, “You’re not going in.” Then someone grabbed me by the neck, another grabbed my arm.”

Johnson said at that point “four or five” security guards grabbed him.

He said: ‘I said, ‘You have to let me go’, but it got worse. I said, “If you don’t let me go, I’ll have to defend myself.” I started to swing. It felt like I was fighting for my life against five grown men to keep them from pinning me down and grabbing me.

“Finally they got me on the ground, and it hurt a little bit. There were quite a few grown men on my back. Their knees were on my arms, legs and back.

“I have asthma, my chest was pressed to the floor, so now I have trouble breathing.

“I never thought I’d be the one to say, ‘I can’t breathe.’

“I was just trying to do my job. It was my duty to be there.”

According to Johnson, he could not remember the exact moment the security guards released him from the ground, but he did remember that the police presence at the court put an end to the situation.

The incident occurred two weeks after lawyer Katie McFadden revealed on X.com that Stratford District Court security staff insisted on carrying out invasive searches, including feeling under her dress.

McFadden tweeted that during a search earlier this year, security staff “felt my legs all the way under my dress to my crotch.”

The controversy comes amid protests from female lawyers over highly invasive searches at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in east London, the Daily Mail reports.

A lawyer, who requested anonymity, told The Mail on Sunday that security staff at the court were exhibiting behavior akin to “bouncers in nightclubs.”

Another lawyer noted: “Some are thinking of a boycott here.”

Daily Mail reports that His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, has responded to the situation.

‘These are serious complaints that we are investigating urgently and as a priority. Our security measures are designed to protect all court users and are continually assessed,” he said.