Use of force during arrest - Metropolitan Police Service, December 2018

On 8 April 2017, Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers went to a man’s home following a report that the man had caused criminal damage to a neighbour’s property. During this incident, MPS officers forced entry into the man’s flat. Several of the officers used force when they attempted to restrain and arrest the man. Two of the officers used their Taser devices and one of the Taser-trained officers struck the man three times in the face with the hand in which he was holding his Taser.

This first came to the attention of the MPS on 24 August 2018 when the man’s solicitor placed a civil claim to the MPS. The MPS referred the case to their Directorate of Professional Standards who subsequently referred it to us on 3 December 2018 as a conduct matter.

During the investigation, our investigators obtained and reviewed body-worn video footage, as well as an account from the man and from the officers who were involved in the incident. We also interviewed the officer who struck the man in the face.

Although the man stated that he was not acting in a threatening or aggressive way towards officers, we were of the opinion that a reasonable tribunal, properly directed, could find on the balance of probabilities that this was not the case after having considered the body-worn video footage and the accounts of all the officers. There is evidence that officers used tactical communication and considered other forms of force before using the Taser. The evidence also suggests that the man was aggressively resisting following the apparent failure of Taser to subdue him. The officer who struck the man in the face while holding their Taser provided an explanation for their actions. The evidence appears to suggest the man was aggressive, violent, suffering from mental health issues, intoxicated either by drugs and/or alcohol, and had a screwdriver and crack pipe in close proximity that could be used as weapons.

We were therefore of the opinion that there was insufficient evidence upon which a reasonable tribunal, properly directed could find misconduct for either officer for excessive use of force. We found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence. We completed our investigation in October 2019.

After reviewing our report the MPS agreed.