Cameron Bowling was jailed for violent disorder when he attended a protest (Image: Adam Gerrard )
A carpet fitter claims he was jailed for two years because he was “racially profiled” by police and the CPS after taking part in a protest during riots which broke out after the Southport murders.
Tattooed Cameron Bowling, 41, was arrested after attending a protest against immigrants being housed in a hotel in Aldershot on July 31 last year.
Mr Bowling, who is 6ft 7ins tall, said he joined the group of around 200 to complain about what they claimed was the proposed use of local housing for people arriving in the UK illegally. He admits banging on a window but says he left the gathering after just 17 minutes.
“Looking back, I think 100% I was racially profiled by police and the CPS, as someone who looks like a guy who could be in a football thug film, with tattoos, a vest and I was the biggest there at 6’7”, he said.
“People burning cars, attacking the police, throwing rocks and bricks, that’s a riot. Our event was just a protest. The police themselves said it was mostly “peaceful”.
“My mates were there and I thought I would go down and check it out. I’d had some new teeth in Turkey done so I wanted to show them off as well.”
Mr Bowling added that during the court case many people had written references saying he was not a racist or a thug.
A mugshot released with a police press release after Mr Bowling was jailed (Image: Hampshire Police )
He added: “I’m not a racist or anti-Islam, they wanted to label me as this, I have friends from all different cultures, I work for and with people from different cultures.
“The first I knew about the police was when they phoned me in Ibiza. My bank cards then stopped working and when we landed back at Gatwick, I was arrested by four police officers, and they took me to Basingstoke.
“It felt like I was a terrorist or something, they walked me onto the runway and I had a police escort off with me in a van and two BMWs, one in front and one behind, I couldn’t believe it was happening. I asked, ‘how much is this all costing?’
“When I was arrested, they told me they were going to go through my phone for racist posts and things like that, they said if I had deleted anything they would find it, and I was like, ‘go for it’, I’m not a racist, there’s nothing on there, I have nothing to hide.
“They would have brought it up in court if they found anything like that, but it wasn’t brought up, because they didn’t find anything.”
Hampshire Police said the gathering was on the whole was “peaceful”, however objects were later thrown and the force said some in the crowd behaved in a “threatening way towards those staying inside the hotel”. An officer also sustained minor injuries as a result of what was called “mob-type” behaviour.
Three men including Mr Bowling were later arrested and jailed after pleading guilty to violent disorder and other offences. A 13-year-old girl was also arrested and given a 12-month referral order.
Mr Bowling admits “stupidly” banging on a window at the hotel and speaking to police officers, but he claims he left the area to go and get food with a friend before any riot police arrived.
Mr Bowling says he thinks he was profiled by the authorities because of the way he looks (Image: Adam Gerrard )
He likens the scene to a football match, and says people inside the hotel were also “blowing kisses” and “waving” at protesters in a bid to taunt them.
Video filmed by Mr Bowling and his friend show them heading back past the hotel later and officers can be seen putting on riot gear, however there appears to be no apparent large-scale disorder visible.
He added that his main reason for going to the event was to see friends to show off his new “Turkey teeth”, a term for a popular cosmetic veneer treatment he had recently had done.
The keen footballer said he only knew of police involvement when he was phoned by cops while on holiday in Ibiza with his friends.
As photographs show, when Mr Bowling landed at he was handcuffed by four police officers and given a police escort which he says made him feel like a “terrorist”.
Just three weeks later he was sentenced to two years for violent disorder at Winchester Crown Court.
Mr Bowling, who has never been in prison before, was released last week after serving just five months.
Despite his size, he admits he feared entering prison for the first time and he was moved between three sites during his sentence, Bullingdon Prison, HMP Winchester and Westhill, a unit within Winchester.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, he said: “Walking into Winchester was scary, it was daunting and intimidating, there’s four floors and it’s narrow and disgusting with loads of people. I’d never been anywhere like this before.
“They tried to profile me when I was inside, four times I was told by different prison workers they suspected I was in the far-right English Defence League (EDL), I’m definitely not and told them I wasn’t, but I think they just thought I looked the type.
Mr Bowling thinks police thought Aldershot was the same as riots elsewhere, like Hartlepool (Image: PA )
“I saw a piece of paper left in the canteen by workers with prisoner names on it. Next to each name was a little summary of their crime, and next to my name it just said ‘racist’.
“I was told to lie about what I was in for because those branded rioters were getting beaten up, which was really scary to hear. I ended up saying I was in a pub fight.
“There was a moment when a group of Asian inmates came up to me and started shouting that I was a rioter and I thought ‘oh, no’, but some other lads told them I was with them so it was ok.”
“I just concentrated on being well-behaved inside, and I became a server in the canteen, so everyone likes you when you are giving out the food, which is disgusting by the way.”
Mr Bowling said as he contemplates his first ever stint at His Majesty’s pleasure it’s hard to reason why he was treated as he was.
Mr Bowling admits he did get into some trouble with the police as a teenager, but finding himself suddenly charged with violent disorder he said he didn’t know what to do in court.
He explained his solicitor told him they had “no time to build a case” and that he “100% felt like I would have been found guilty whatever I did”.
Not understanding what a guilty plea would mean for the process, Mr Bowling assumed he would be able to “have his say” in court, but quickly realised he would not.
He added: “I am angry now looking back at how I was looked at and treated by the system, the CPS when I was sentenced ripped me apart and I was thinking ‘when I have my say, I can dispute this’.
“But I had no chance to say anything, and boom I was taken away to prison.
“My family and loved ones have been unreal in their support, while I was in prison I was sent money for the prison account. At one point I was maxed out for cash I could spend in the canteen and things.
“All my friends rallied together to help me, even the prison guards were saying, ‘oh, Cam’s got fan mail again’. I have had the best backing from my friends and family and that is a blessing.”
Talking about the legacy of his sentence, Mr Bowling said it had affected every part of his life.
He said: “I’ve had to sell investments to keep up the payments while I’ve been in prison, I’ve lost work because of it.
“I have family in the United States who I won’t be able to see now, and I have weddings and stag dos which I might not be able to attend.
“In my view asylum seekers are here to claim asylum, which makes sense, but illegal immigrants really shouldn’t be here. They got here illegally.
“If the Government did their job and stopped illegal immigration instead of housing people in hotels costing the taxpayer millions and millions, there wouldn’t have been a protest in the first place. It’s madness.”