Use of force - Metropolitan Police Service, May 2019

At 12.49am on 3 May 2019, a member of the public contacted the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Control Room to report a man who was walking in and out of traffic on West Cromwell Road, London. Two officers attended this incident. One of the officers used force during the incident, namely pushing the man backwards. This push resulted in the man falling and hitting his head on a set of stairs. The man was taken to hospital by ambulance.

This was referred to us as a conduct matter and we investigated the force used by the officer on the man.

Our investigators obtained, and reviewed body-worn video (BWV) footage and obtained accounts from the two officers who were involved in the incident. The man indicated he suffered concussion, leg and body aches, and dizziness as a result of his injuries, although we were unable to verify this, as he did not continue to engage in our investigation or provide us with his supporting medical records.

The evidence appeared to suggest that the officer believed that the man was in some way intoxicated. The officer later stated that their main concern was for the man’s welfare. The BWV footage and other evidence suggested that the man was unsteady on his feet and appeared to be drunk. There was no evidence to support the officer’s assertion that the man clenched his fists in an aggressive manner.

We considered the rationale from the MPS, whose view was that the force used by the officer was at the lower end of the scale, and was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in order to create a gap between himself and the man (who was drunk and an ‘unknown’ threat).

We agreed with them that a determination that the officer had no case to answer was appropriate in the circumstances.

We completed our investigation in September 2019.