Many church services and events have been disrupted by government shutdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now police department in England is apologizing for dispatching officers to shut down a broadcast of a church service then calling for backup to help chase church staff from the building.
There’s no word yet on whether further legal action will be pursued.
According to the U.K.’s Christian Concern, the events developed in the United Kingdom.
Officials with the Thames Valley Police have apologized to a Milton Keynes pastor who was prosecuted over regulations prompted by the Chinese coronavirus.
It all happened Nov. 20 because of a legal church broadcast event at Kingdom Faith Ministries International Church that was following government guidance, the report said.
While the British government has criminalized holding in-person worship, churches are allowed to broadcast to their congregations online from their buildings and can work with support staff, such as singers and sound engineers.
Rev. Daniel Mateola, 49, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Center, was in charge of that evening’s broadcast of a men’s conference.
Video reveals two officers entered the church building and told support staff to leave.
Mateola tried to show the officers the government guidance on his laptop, but they refused to look.
The officers then radioed for backup and seven more officers arrived. Eventually, the church support staff left and the event was ended.
Four days later, a police officer went to the church and read Mateola his rights and “notified him that he would be prosecuted.”
“I am here to tell you that you are going to be form[ally] reported to court for what happened … you do not have to say anything but it may harm your defense if you do not mention now something you later rely on in court … you will receive something in the post to tell you what happens next,” the officer said.
The minister’s protests to the officers were of no avail.
Mateola, who is one of 122 church leaders pursuing a judicial review against the English and Welsh government’s decision to close churches, said he was shocked at the developments.
But he said the police apology was appropriate.
“I am relieved that the police have recognized their mistake and have apologized. I have been treated like a criminal while legally seeking to be a blessing and to bring hope to my fellow citizens at a time of great need physically, emotionally and spiritually.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Center, said: “If someone had said at the start of 2020 that by November the police would be interpreting and enforcing government rules which involved closing down legal broadcasts from a church and prosecuting a pastor, no one would have believed them.
“Yet this is the current reality for church leaders seeking to legally function and faithfully serve their congregation and communities in need under government covid-19 regulations.”
Chief Superintendent Robert France, of the Thames Valley Police, said it appears “there has been a misunderstanding by our officers of the legislation in place in what is an ever-changing and complex area of enforcement.”
“There has been a mistake in the issuing of this ticket and I would like to apologize for the distress I know this is likely to have caused.”
