Injuries sustained following the use of tactical vehicle contact during a police pursuit - Metropolitan Police Service, June 2019

We investigated the injuries sustained by the driver of a moped on 21 June 2019 following the use of a tactical contact manoeuvre by a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) driven police vehicle in Hackney, east London.

The police officers driving the police vehicle were aware that there had been a report of a moped being involved in a robbery shortly before. Officers made their way to the location and saw the moped with rider and passenger that matched the description given. They activated the blue lights of the police vehicle.

The rider swerved to pass the police vehicle. The police driver made the decision to carry out a slow-speed tactical contact technique, using the police vehicle to stop the moped. The action caused both rider and passenger to fall from the moped.

The rider of the moped was immediately arrested. The passenger made off, but was located shortly after and arrested.

The driver of the moped complained of shoulder pain and was attended to immediately at the scene by a London Ambulance Service motorcycle responder. He was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment of his injury, which was confirmed as a minor dislocation of his shoulder.

During the course of this investigation, we obtained statements from the victim of the robbery, as well as police officers involved in the pursuit and arrest of the suspects. Investigators obtained and analysed police officers’ body-worn video footage, police vehicle footage and police radio airwaves. They also reviewed relevant MPS policies and the approved guidance on vehicle pursuits and tactical vehicle contact.

Based on the evidence available there was no indication that the police driver breached MPS policies. The driver had been assigned to the Borough as a result of a series of moped-enabled robberies in the area. His policing purpose was to prevent such offences and apprehend those involved.

The findings of our investigation were that the police driver proportionately and competently executed his duties, deploying an approved tactical technique to apprehend the suspects and to protect the public.

We completed our investigation in September 2019.