I see a dangerous level of dissatisfaction with the police, not just in these columns but in the wider media.

If the police are subjected to this sort of vitriolic attack by the general public then don't expect any favours back from them.

Why expect anything else from people you deride?

Shelly, Durham, Co Durham

Ordinary decent bloke arrested at 3am. The police could have listened to him, assessed the situation, and asked him attend the station as in informal visitor the next day. The police are rapidly loosing all public support because of this sort of behaviour. I also have zero respect for them.

John, Leicester , England

Oh the 3 am thing this is normal practice for police due to the lack of inconvenience of knowing you will be home (asleep) and a rude awakening is sure to destabilise you and possibly get you to say things you wouldnt normally so possibly incriminating yourself they want a result usually at any cost

sonny, Sydney, Australia

Police Officers don't even need A levels to join up. It's obvious most of the force is now made up of poor achieving school leavers who feel they have something to prove to the educated society. They really need to be intelligence tested before being allowed to join.

Cliff Peters, Ormskirk,

Tescos are evil. And the British Police stopped serving Joe Public years ago. Just look back at the appalling treatment that the protesters recieved during the free Tibet protests.
Disgusting and totally OTT. The MET Commisioner should hang his polictically correct head in shame. And resign.

Rob, London,

Has it occurred to anyone that the woman claiming the damage to her car could have been an accomplice of the TV thief, and used this as a distraction technique while the television was taken out of the store? Quite a co-incidence that they happened at the same time.

Sheena, Somerset,

The police make arrests in the small hours of the morning for one very good reason.
THE OVERTIME RATE IS BETTER.

GJB, Slough, Berkshire

Try calling out plod for a burglary or assault, or any other offence apart from speeding, and you won't ever see them. No wonder nobody respects them.

Albert Hall, kettering,

No mention of any apology, I see, either from Tesco or the police. No doubt "they were only doing what they sincerely believed was right". If Mr Brasch had rung 999 at 3 am to report a burglary, do you think the police would have come as quickly?

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

He should be able to afford all the plasma TV's he wants after the payout for that debacle!

Guilty until proven innocent at the behest of big business? Nice.

Ben Rosenthal, Manchester,

Day after day we're reading about a police force that's not so much out of control but one that's lost any sense of perspective.

Thanks to government meddling, the police are target driven, and thus driven to target the soft options to boost their arrest rates.

But this is a clear case of wrongful arrest, and extremely maladroit handling by Tesco.

Mr Brasch deserves compensation, and I hope that it is, at the very least, substantial.

Miv Tucker, London,

Clearly the police consider the theft of a televion from tescos to be more important than an individual's civil liberties. This goverment has presided over the wholesale destruction of our rights. Tommorrow we will wake up and realise that 1984 has arrived 20 years late curtesey of Blair and Brown.

Tony Thomas, Bexhill on Sea,

Litigation was made for cases like this. I believe the going rate for false arrest by the police is about £300 per hour . Another example of the police not doing their job and claifying te information before taking action. At least it would make a nice donation to this gentleman's charity.

Alex, York,

The British police now fill me with utter revulsion. I have no respect for them whatsoever.

Billy Barnett, HK,

Why do the police have to mount raids in the middle of the night, this what happened to a secretary at No 10 investigating the cash for honours, Harry Rednap where police are investigating corrumption in football etc. These people can be interviewed during the day time- they are not terrorists.

John Doe, Chonburi, Thailand

Another good reason not to shop at Tescos -- if you ever need another reason on top of the rip off prices and appalling trading practices.

Paul Downes, Milton Keynes, Bucks