Man Arrested for 'Abstracting Electricity' to Charge iPhone on London Train

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Posted July 14, 2015 at 4:53pm by iClarified

Robin Lee, a 45-year-old artist from Islington, was arrested for using a plug on a London Overground train to charge his iPhone, reports the London Evening Standard.

On Friday, July 10, Lee plugged his iPhone to charge in a power socket on a train from Hackney Wick to Camden Road. He was then confronted by a police community support officer who accused him of taking electricity illegally.

"She said I'm abstracting electricity," he said. "She kept saying it's a crime."

"We were just coming into the station, and there happened to be about four police officers on the platform", said Lee. "She called to them and said 'This guy's been abstracting electricity, he needs to be arrested'."

After getting off at Camden Road, Lee tried to push past the officers but was handcuffed, taken down the stairs, and put into a van. He was driven to the British Transport Police base before being de-arrested.

"I was just incredulous," Lee said. "It was an overzealous community support officer. They should never have arrested me, they knew it was ridiculous. The whole thing was just ridiculous."

A BTP spokesman said: "We were called to Camden Road London Overground station on Friday, July 10, to a report of a man becoming aggressive when challenged by a PCSO about his use of a plug socket on board an Overground train. Shortly after 3.30pm, a 45-year-old man from Islington was arrested on suspicion of abstracting electricity, for which he was de-arrested shortly after. He was further arrested for unacceptable behaviour and has been reported for this offence."

Signs near the outlets state they are for "cleaners use only and not for public use".

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Read More [via Micah]

Man Arrested for 'Abstracting Electricity' to Charge iPhone on London Train

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SuperCapacitor - July 18, 2015 at 2:54am

Charge HIM for charging his phone!!!....

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The Community Police - July 16, 2015 at 12:20pm

This man is completely out of control, he should be locked up permanently.

Streetboi - July 16, 2015 at 4:00am

Thank god I live in America where it's not a crime to charge my iPhone no taxation without representation

Vanja - July 16, 2015 at 4:44am

Wait, you are joking right? America is like the prototype of a police abuse? Seen news lately? LOL

yea - July 15, 2015 at 10:13pm

Once this public CSO responds to a muder scene or faces a physical altercation she'll gain that experience of not sweating the small stuff. Most rookie cops don't ask themselves "how is this going to look in court" prior to an arrest

Petrolman - July 15, 2015 at 5:53am

well if they are going to be like that whos going to pay for the petrol i waste waiting for trains to go by and all the traffic lights i have to wait at.

Mr Logical - July 15, 2015 at 4:16am

People like this who make minor offenses and expect society to give them a pass give "artists" a bad name.

bsss - July 15, 2015 at 1:01am

If there was a sign then he should have respect it but arresting him for that is ridiculous. may be a summons or a warning would have been enough..

vsnlweb - July 14, 2015 at 11:51pm

I think this community service person should also be disciplined. You can't arrest someone for plugging in their phone. It wasn't like he was hooking lines to power his house. This is just absurd!

Mr Logical - July 15, 2015 at 4:08am

The PCSO is just doing her job. People call her overzealous. But u can't blame a government employee to do too good of a job. How can people as tax payers in good conscience criticize the very workers we employ to maintain social order by condoning the minuscule nature of an offense caused by just one person?

Smart - July 14, 2015 at 10:18pm

If he used a Samsung none of this would've happened. The officers would've understood his need for recharging his device on the go.

dkdk - July 14, 2015 at 10:54pm

Funny. :-) But maybe he was using an iPhone while wearing an Apple Watch... holy crap that wears down the iPhone battery FAST!!!! Supposedly from the constant GPS use and so forth, but still... :-(

J. Miller - July 14, 2015 at 11:35pm

Only if he had a spare battery

vsnlweb - July 14, 2015 at 11:49pm

I agree...

gamerscul9870 - July 14, 2015 at 9:27pm

This is why motion Chargers were made. No more electricity relabel charging.

Reliable*

MUKAI - July 14, 2015 at 8:38pm

My butt

MichelBR - July 14, 2015 at 7:08pm

If there are warnings he could be warned and punished

justabrake - July 14, 2015 at 5:15pm

I think the people that ride it should get together and buy a multiplug 10x's and have everyone plug in !

tehreflex - July 14, 2015 at 4:59pm

Since it costs roughly $0.47 a year to charge an iPhone 6 this is STUPID.

dkdk - July 14, 2015 at 6:51pm

I don't know what kind of world you guys live in. It's not a matter of how much electricity an iPhone uses, it's a matter of respecting rules as part of a social contract, instead of feeling special and that the rules don't apply to you. Should the tags by the outlets be ten pages long, specifying what devices can and cannot be plugged in? No, of course not... they're for official use only, and that's that. Simple rule in life: you can do whatever you want, but you have to accept the consequences. That's what being an adult means.

J. Miller - July 14, 2015 at 4:59pm

What a stupid thing to get arrested for. Even more stupid that he became aggressive when confronted by the police. But it all comes down to one thing... Had he followed the rules of not using the plug... He wouldn't be in the position he's in.

stevenlacross - July 14, 2015 at 5:03pm

That's what they put those plug there for, to be used, if they didn't want people to use them, they would close those plugs off.

Really... really? - July 14, 2015 at 5:09pm

Read the entire article.... The plugs were "clearly signed" for cleaners use only

J. Miller - July 14, 2015 at 5:51pm

You're one of the reasons this shot happens. You don't bother to understand the reality.

lemon4611 - July 14, 2015 at 7:13pm

That comment is directed to "Really?"

Truth - July 14, 2015 at 9:41pm

@lemon4611 Everyone is here just to give their 2 cents while you are literally attacking people for their thoughts. Maybe you should go troll else where

dkdk - July 14, 2015 at 10:57pm

@Truth: J Mlller called the authorities stupid, and Lemon4611 called Miller stupid. What's the difference? Both are expressing their opinion. And Miller's was that of a spoiled, entitled, basement dwelling moron. Which is MY opinion.

J. Miller - July 14, 2015 at 11:37pm

True, I take no offense to your opinion but the facts speak for themselves.

J. Miller - July 14, 2015 at 11:59pm

Actually I did not call the authorities stupid at all. I merely said that it's a stupid thing to get arrested for. Not only that but the article never claimed that the arrestee was arrested for charging his phone but rather for his conduct when confronted by the authorities.

dkdk - July 15, 2015 at 12:41am

@J. Miller: you're absolutely correct, my apologies... you were actually quite clear, but I read it in the wrong context. Thank you for being civil.