Cast your mind back to March 2009. I’ll set the scene for you.

It was a quiet day in Knutsford and two young men, one with a large plaster-cast on his leg, were window shopping outside what one national newspaper at the time described as a ‘boutique famous among the Bentley and Rolex brigade of the north west for its bespoke jewellery’ in King Street.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Cheshire Police patrol car appeared and officers swooped in.

One of the men, a 20-year-old, and his friend had been picked up on CCTV cameras allegedly acting suspiciously outside the jewellery shop.

Following a ‘heated dialogue’ in which the men vigorously denied casing the joint in preparation for a later break-in, the unnamed companion was handcuffed.

The two men had been stopped and questioned by officers who were investigating a gang responsible for a spate of violent break-ins at jewellers in the town and surrounding villages.

The two men were released without charge.

Nothing unusual or untoward about this, you might say, just police doing their job. Well maybe not.

The man wearing the plaster-cast was professional footballer Victor Anichebe. At the time, he was a member of the Everton first team squad and a Nigerian international and one can only assume was earning more than enough money to be able to afford what the jewellers had to offer.

Northwich Guardian: David Moyes has stressed how important Victor Anichebe, pictured, can be for Everton

Victor Anichebe playing for Everton

It appears Anichebe and his friend made it clear that perhaps white window shoppers might not have expected to receive the same level of attention from the police.

Initially, Cheshire Police wouldn’t answer the comments from the pair that white men would not have received the same treatment.

In fact, the response at the time was somewhat brusque with a spokesman saying: “For some time Cheshire Constabulary have been responding to a series of violent robberies targeting jewellers in Knutsford and in the wider Cheshire area. We have robust plans in place to respond swiftly to any report of any suspicious activity at or in the vicinity of jewellers’ premises.

“As part of that plan, local CCTV operators actively and routinely monitor shopping areas and jewellers’ premises and on this occasion identified what appeared to be two men acting suspiciously outside a jeweller’s store on King Street, Knutsford. Police attended the location within minutes and upon speaking with the two men, a heated dialogue developed in an attempt to ascertain exactly what the two persons were doing outside the jeweller’s premises.

“During the course of this exchange, an officer took the decision to restrain one of the two men concerned by applying handcuffs. It was subsequently ascertained that there was no criminal conduct whatsoever on behalf of the two men concerned and they were in no way involved in any criminal activity.”

Oh dear, no hint of an apology there. No attempt to deal with the suggestion that the two men would have been treated differently if they had been white.

Once the story gained some traction and began appearing in national newspapers, there was a fairly rapid volte-face from Cheshire Police with a spokesman saying: “Having now reviewed in detail what occurred between the officers and the two men who they believed to have been acting suspiciously, it is now apparent that, while the situation was heated, the actions of the police officer in applying handcuffs to one of the men was less than a proportionate reaction to the requirements of the situation. The officer has been advised regarding this, and an offer of apology extended to the two men.”

Having received the apology, Anichebe and Everton graciously considered the matter closed.

Lessons to be learned there, I think. And don’t forget this was back in 2009 so the world has moved on, hasn’t it?

Let’s fast forward to last week and the report by Guardian chief reporter Stephen Topping who wrote: “Black people are more than eight times more likely than white or Asian people to be stopped and searched by police in Cheshire, new figures suggest.

Data published on the Government website shows the number of stop and searches carried out per 1,000 people in each police force area for the 12 months between April 2018 and March 2019.

In Cheshire over that period, two stop and searches were carried out for every 1,000 white or Asian people living in the county.

But for black people, that number rises to 17 searches per 1,000 population, suggesting black people were 8.5 times more likely to be searched by Cheshire officers than white or Asian people.

The figures were defended by Supt Martin Cleworth who said: “Stop and search is a valuable tool in policing, that communities in Cheshire expect us to use, but with it comes accountability and trust.

“We are very conscious that to ensure the confidence of our communities we show that we’re using it legally, proportionately and in accordance with current information and intelligence.”

I’ll leave you to make up your own mind.

What I did find interesting was the offer of taking part in the police’s so called ‘ride-a-long’ scheme where members of the public go out on patrol with officers to see first-hand how stop and search is used.”

I quite fancy a go at that.

Respond to The Fly by emailing yourviews@guardiangrp.co.uk