OAP is questioned by police as a hate criminal after 'beeping her horn at a black driver'
AN ELDERLY woman was quizzed by police after she "beeped her horn at a slow motorist who was black", a top cop has revealed.
Anthony Stansfield, police commissioner for Thames Valley, was appalled that the OAP, a "pillar of the local community", was treated as a hate criminal.
Describing the incident as an "absolute classic", Stansfield said the elderly woman was left "hugely upset" by the investigation.
He has called for a review of hate crime regulations because he believes current practices can create "huge injustices".
Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said the woman in front of the elderly couple "was taking ages" to fill up her petrol tank.
He added: "The lady who was driving, in her seventies, peeped on the horn and out flew an Afro-Caribbean lady who screamed abuse at them, went into the kiosk and reported it as a hate crime.
"We had to investigate it. [The elderly lady] was questioned under caution. And this woman was a pillar of society. She was hugely upset."
Last month, official figures revealed hate crimes had soared over the past year with nearly 2,000 attacks taking place every week.
The number of hate crimes directed at racial, religious and sexual minorities has risen by 17 per cent compared to last year.
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The number of offences recorded by police had doubled in the past five years.
The Home Office said today there were 94,098 hate crimes recorded in 2017-18.
Of those three-quarters were racially motivated, with 12 per cent linked to sexual orientation, nine per cent committed against religious minorities and eight per cent suffered by disabled people.
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