Community activist Carlton Simmons claims police assaulted him and wrongfully arrested him when he was trying to defend a young woman who had also been assaulted.He told The Royal Gazette he is seeking legal advice after allegedly being shoved and punched by an officer, locked up for 24 hours and made to give a sample of his DNA.Officers told 34-year-old Mr Simmons he’d used offensive words and obstructed police. He is due to attend Hamilton Police Station to answer the charges this morning. Mr Simmons insists he is innocent, and says he plans to sue the police for assault and to get his DNA removed from their database. However, Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva said some of the allegations he’s made are “fundamentally wrong”.Mr Simmons, founder of community group Youth on the Move, told The Royal Gazette he’s concerned that while he has instructed a lawyer to take action on his behalf, other young men may not have the means to do so. “It’s not just me, it’s about what’s happening in the community,” he said. “What bothers me the most is if they can do this to someone who has a good reputation in the community, what can they do to an individual who already has a criminal record?“What should be of concern to the entire community is that justice should be for all, not just those who have the money to clear their names.”Trouble flared around 10pm on June 17 when a fight involving a group of women broke out at a central Hamilton bar, the name of which Mr Simmons did not want published.“I was arrested after speaking out because I saw officers shove a young woman to the ground. I was in the establishment when the fight broke out and 20 minutes later the police arrived,” he said. “The people responsible for the ruckus had left. It was a ruckus between girls. The officers, and it was some of them not all of them, they started aggressively pushing people.“One officer pushed a woman to the ground in a way I had never seen a man push a woman. I have her name but I’ve been unable to reach her. She didn’t do anything. Then I was set upon, assaulted. When I witnessed the officer push the young lady to the ground for no reason, I said ‘she didn’t even do anything’. I was standing next to an officer having a conversation about what had happened. I was not involved. But when I said that, one officer came from among his colleagues out of nowhere.“He shoved me in the chest, I almost fell. I said ‘you have no right to put your hands on me, I haven’t done anything’. Then he punched me in the chest. Then I said ‘stop bleeping pushing me’ and I was arrested. I had my DNA and fingerprints taken. What disturbed me the most [was] when I got to the police station the officer took my words and lied. He was saying I pushed somebody, that I obstructed him.”Mr Simmons said the officer also claimed he’d threatened to kill him. He was allowed to make two phone calls while he was in custody to try to reach a lawyer. However, he said he was not allowed to call his family, and they did not know where he was until 4pm the next day. “By the time my family found out where I was they were in a panic. They’d been searching high and low,” he said.Mr Simmons was bailed after his release and attended Magistrates’ Court the following week but no paperwork had been filed in the case against him.Yesterday, Mr Simmons was told he must come to Hamilton Police Station at 8am today or a warrant will be issued for his arrest.He told The Royal Gazette he has “no criminal convictions whatsoever”, although he has been involved in two disputes with the police in the past. On the first occasion, he was accused of using offensive words during a dispute with a neighbour, but cleared after a trial at Magistrates’ Court.On the second occasion he was accused of speeding, but says he was never charged.“I have no criminal convictions because I had to spend money on repeated occasions to keep my name clear, but people that don’t have that type of money almost don’t have a chance to keep their good names if this is the way they [the police] do business,” he said.Mr Simmons, who often speaks out on policing and gang-related matters due to his community work, believes he is sometimes treated unfairly by officers who “might not like a remark I make in the newspaper”.Nonetheless, he said: “I want to make it clear it’s a few officers. It’s not the entire police service. I work with more officers who have integrity than those who don’t.”Mr Simmons said he’s filed a complaint with the police service about the alleged behaviour of the officer in question. However, he has not filed anything with the independent Police Complaints Authority because he believes it does not have the power to investigate his concerns.He has also instructed a lawyer to take action on his behalf relating to the alleged assault upon him, and the holding of his DNA on the police database. “I was wrongfully arrested and I would like my DNA removed from the system,” he said.“I think it violates my rights. If someone behaves violently they lose their rights, but I do not think the universe has a right to the DNA.”Commissioner of Police Mr DeSilva said: “Mr Simmons was arrested during an altercation that took place on Reid Street in the City of Hamilton about two weeks ago. He was arrested for obstructing police officers who were in the process of arresting another person for various offences.“He was later bailed to attend court on June 21. The court file was not ready on the 21st so he was released from bail. He has since been summonsed to court to answer various charges. The court date has been set in July at which time the matter will entirely be in the hands of the court.“No further comment from the police would be appropriate at this time. Mr Simmons is entitled to his views and the police are entitled to disagree. While we would not debate his views line by line through the media, we feel it is important to set the record straight on some points that Mr. Simmons has made that are fundamentally wrong.“Mr Simmons has not made a formal complaint with the BPS. We are not aware whether he has made one with the Police Complaints Authority.”The Commissioner said the police take DNA samples and fingerprints from everyone who is arrested for, charged with or convicted of a “recordable offence.” Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, this is any offence that carries a penalty of more than three months imprisonment.“Where a person is acquitted of a recordable offence they may apply to the Commissioner in writing to have the samples of their DNA and fingerprints destroyed,” he said.The Commissioner also wished to point out that the police cannot issue tickets for offences with less than 12 months imprisonment, and that when a court issues a warrant for non-appearance or non-payment of a fine, the police do not “choose” to arrest as the arrest is an order from the court.However, he said, the police do not take DNA samples or fingerprints from anyone who is arrested on a court warrant.