Dying Man 'Mooning' At Speed Camera For Bucket List Arrested For Indecent Exposure

KEY POINTS

The 55-year-old British man diagnosed with multiple system atrophy last month
He said he came up with a bucket list of things he wanted to do before he died after being diagnosed with the terminal condition
He said he suffered a blow to the head when several officers got him to the ground to cuff him during his Friday arrest

A retired lecturer in Worcestershire, England, who recently found out he was terminally ill was arrested after flashing his bare behind at a speed camera van to fulfill a bucket list wish.

Darrell Meekcom, 55, "flashed [his] bum" at a speed camera van positioned along Stourbridge Road in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, Friday, local newspaper The Shuttle reported.

“I pulled my [pants] up and got back in the car. I didn’t think anything of it. It was a good laugh,” Meekcom was quoted as saying by the outlet.

The act had been one of the items Meekcom wanted to check off his bucket list, which he wrote after he was diagnosed last month with multiple system atrophy (MSA), a terminal condition that affects the nervous system.

According to Meekcom, who also has Parkinson's Disease, the life expectancy following a diagnosis of MSA is around six years, although this varies from person to person.

Meekcom said witnesses laughed at his actions, but police were already knocking on his door 20 minutes after he returned to his home in Coley Close to arrest him for indecent exposure and dangerous driving. Three more squad cars appeared within the next five minutes, which prompted Meekcom to tell his wife, "[T]here's no way I'm going out there."

Meekcom said he "was too scared to go out" and that the situation was "quite frightening" at the time. But he later went outside to meet police in his garden after his front door and fence were allegedly damaged.

Six officers attempted to restrain Meekcom and he was brought to the ground, which resulted in him suffering a blow to the head, he claimed.

"I did not resist arrest once and I felt the response was completely disproportionate in the circumstances," Meekcom was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Footage of the incident, which has appeared online, showed Meekcom lying on the ground and explaining to police he was terminally ill and would struggle to breathe, a report by The Guardian said.

"I felt like I had been abused. It was outrageous bullying," Meekcom said.

Police may have seen him as a "big fellow" and perceived him "as a threat," Meekcom explained. Authorities could have also killed him "very easily," he added.

Meekcom was released from custody later that day, but his vision was blurred and he suffered a seizure. He went to Kidderminster Hospital and was later referred to Worcestershire Royal Hospital due to fears he suffered a bleed to the brain.

The incident has been reported to the police complaints commission, Meekcom said.

West Mercia Police said officers responded to a report of indecent exposure on Stourbridge Road Friday and went to a property in Coley Close with the intention of speaking to an individual regarding the incident, the BBC reported. Officers attempted to speak to a man, but the situation developed, which led to his subsequent arrest, police said.

"We appreciate the footage and commentary circulating around the incident has caused some concern," local police superintendent Mark Colquhoun said in a statement. "The incident was reviewed at the time and, after consideration of the full facts and circumstances, including reviewing officers' body-worn video, I am satisfied that appropriate action was taken by officers."

He continued, "The incident lasted around 38 minutes from the time of arrival at the address and therefore lasted significantly longer than the footage already in the media."