Artist Ben Wilson, whose gum paintings—varnished acrylic on discarded chewing gum—have graced the pavements of London and other European cities over the last four years, has been off work for the past five weeks, after being arrested for criminal damage (to chewing gum!) near the Thames embankment by the Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern gallery, in early May.

According to Ben, he was lying on his side, painting in front of a group of tourists, when he was approached by police officers. While attempting to explain what he was doing, the officers arrested the artist and subsequently threw him to the pavement in order to seize his camera. Ben maintains that he wasn't resisting arrest at the time, merely questioning their appropriation of his equipment. He hasn't been charged with resisting.

Once in custody, he refused to submit to a DNA test (now mandatory for those under arrest in the UK) until his lawyer arrived. During the subsequent, forced gathering of said DNA (a tuft of hair), Ben was held down by several officers, beaten, and dragged around the floor. His lawyer was kept waiting in reception during the attack. The severe bruising sustained during what could be described as use of excessive force, has kept him from painting ever since. He's been charged with obstructing an officer in the pursuit of his duties (questioning the seizure of his camera).

Ben is an "outsider" artist of some repute; the gum paintings have drawn national and international attention from major magazines, newspapers, and the BBC. He's exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. Ben usually has amicable dealings with the police—particularly the neighboring Metropolitan Police. It's possible, given the way he dresses for street painting, that the City Police mistook him for a vagrant—quite telling about their treatment of London's homeless—but it's more likely that he simply didn't fit in with their idea of an acceptable artist.

"It's disgusting that someone as gentle and reasonable as Ben could be treated like this by people who are supposed to serve the community", said one fan, recently. "It's ironic that such a thing could happen in the shadow of Britain's newest and most popular art gallery, in front of a crowd of tourists."

DNA testing has been compulsory in the UK, for those under arrest, since 2003. Over a sixth of Londoners are now on the national database. Many have been arrested and then released without charge following the gathering of a sample.