Petersfield man arrested for abusing public and drunk and disorderly - police apologise for male's behaviour

One police sergeant has apologised to members of the public who witnessed the male’s behaviour after he was detained in Petersfield Square. Officers received a call at 1pm yesterday afternoon about a man “acting suspiciously”.

The sergeant, who posted on the East Hampshire police Facebook page, said this “quickly escalated into threatening and abusive behaviour towards members of the public”. A 35-year-old man from Petersfield was arrested on suspicion of three offences of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress, and being drunk and disorderly in a public place.

He has been released from police custody without charge, but remains under investigation amid ongoing police enquiries. “My apologies to those who were unfortunate enough to witness the behaviour exhibited by one individual yesterday,” the sergeant said.

“I hope that the community are reassured that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. I would like to extend my thanks to those who witnessed what was unfolding, for doing their best to ignore the situation.” Anyone with information is advised to call 101, quoting the reference number 44240369094. Reports can also be submitted online via the police website.