Café facing closure after police officer placed in headlock
The Licensing Committee will meet to discuss the future of Café Nos Terra.
Last updated 2nd Nov 2024
A café in Ipswich is facing closure after a police officer was placed in a headlock and several drug-related incidents.
Members of Ipswich’s licensing and regulatory sub-committee will meet to discuss the future of Café Nos Terra, on Norwich Road.
The café is facing a recommendation from Suffolk Constabulary for the ‘immediate suspension’ of its licence after multiple serious disorder incidents which left the force ‘out of options’.
In one instance last month, officer Mason Blanchard was placed in a headlock by a staff member while trying to separate a large-scale fight involving around 10 people outside the premises.
In his witness statement, he says: “As I grabbed hold of one male who had another in a headlock, I felt a forearm across my throat applying pressure and another arm around my waist.
“I was dragged from the group with continuing pressure around my upper body and throat, and pushed backwards towards one of the cafés.”
He then said he had to use force to get control over the aggressor, with multiple members of the public trying to prevent his arrest.
The use of force, he stated, was ‘proportionate and the most minimal’ to defend himself.
The assault is currently being investigated.
The constabulary deemed the café ‘a serious local issue’ since the manager and licence holder, Carla Alexandra Melo de Sousa, took over the venue, with it now having a reputation as a place for drug use and supply.
On October 1st, the premises were subject to a search warrant during which officers found one male member of staff in possession of a small bag of cannabis and another male customer with several bags of cannabis and a wrap of cocaine plus two phones, one of which was a burner.
During the search, officers also found a cannabis grinder and digital scales next to the coffee machine and two steak knives in the basin cabinet of the toilets.
In the function room, there was also a cubby hole which had a mattress, sleeping bags and documents for different people.