London's Metropolitan Police is negotiating the settlement of a £1 million claim for damages by a black man after a report found officers were guilty of harassment.
On one occasion, Mr Delroy Lindo (41), who has been stopped by police 37 times in the past eight years but not convicted for any offences during that time, was arrested and held for five hours in a police cell for sucking his teeth in an aggressive way.
The Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, Mr Tarique Ghaffur, led an inquiry into complaints that Mr Lindo and his family were being victimised by police officers in Haringey, north London.
His confidential report of the inquiry, parts of which were leaked yesterday, found "no evidence of an organised conspiracy" against the family, but said there was evidence of "harassment" and "negative stereotyping" by police officers.
Police sources quoted in the media yesterday said the force did not expect to pay the compensation claim in full.
Asked to respond to reports that the inquiry had caused a rift at Scotland Yard, with senior officers accusing Mr Ghaffur of failing to interview any of the officers involved in the harassment case, a Scotland Yard spokesman told The Irish Times: "The terms of reference of the inquiry were fully delivered. The inquiry was not required to interview officers and Mr Ghaffur did not decide how to conduct the inquiry. It was commissioned and set up by the deputy commissioner, Ian Blair."
Scotland Yard said the inquiry had found "some corporate, procedural and policy failings that could have been better designed and followed" but it had not levelled criticism at individual officers.
It is unclear whether Mr Ghaffur's report will be published. In the meantime, a steering group consisting of the Metropolitan Police Authority - the body that oversees policing and whose first task after it was established last July was to begin an inquiry into Mr Lindo's complaints - lay advisers and police officers will be appointed to consider Mr Ghaffur's findings.
The Lindos have said they believe the root of police harassment is their support for Winston Silcott, whose conviction for the murder of a policeman during the Broadwater Farm riots in Tottenham, north London, in 1985, was overturned after a long campaign.
Mr Lindo took part in the campaign to overturn Silcott's conviction for the murder of PC Keith Blakelock and he told the Guardian recently that police officers had harassed him since the murder and once told him: "We're going to get you like we got Winston."