Use of force during stop and search, Hackney – Metropolitan Police Service, April 2020

In April 2020, a group of three young men were on Mulberry Road in Hackney, East London. The group refused to stop for officers in an unmarked police vehicle and appeared to flee on pedal bikes. One man was taken to the ground by officers and searched for weapons under Section 1, Police and Criminal Evidence Act. During the search, the man was handcuffed. No weapon was found in his possession, and he was released with no further action.

A member of the public, who witnessed the interaction, used their mobile phone to capture video footage of the incident. On 1 June 2020, they submitted a complaint to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and expressed concern about the level of force used.

We independently investigated all aspects of the complaint, including whether the police officers treated the young man differently because of his race; and whether the police officers complied with the necessary legislation and local and national policies and procedures in conducting the stop and search and the force used.

During our investigation, we took a statement from the member of the public who witnessed the incident and viewed the mobile phone footage. We obtained witness accounts from the two officers involved in the stop and search and a third from their line manager. We made several attempts to engage with the man who was subject to the stop and search, however he chose not to respond.

We looked at body worn video (BWV) footage, and studied policing policies concerning stop and search, BWV and the use of force.

We also reviewed the officers’ previous stop and search records and the rationale provided by the officers for their actions.

Our investigation concluded in January 2021.

We determined there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

However, we did identify a performance issue for the sergeant who line managed the officers involved. We advised that the officer’s choice of words in dialogue with the complainant, if used in everyday interactions with colleagues, could contribute to a negative stereotyping of young Black men. We were satisfied this could be resolved through reflective practice.

We shared our report with the MPS who agreed with our conclusions.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

We did not identify any organisational learning, but the investigation was considered as part of a wider piece of work we did to study stop and search cases nationally.