Man sustained serious injury following use of Taser – Metropolitan Police Service, April 2020

On 25 April 2020, a man was detained outside his home address for the purposes of a drugs search. Officers used incapacitant spray and discharged a Taser after the man allegedly assaulted an officer. The man sustained serious injuries following the interaction and use of force.

We investigated whether the injuries sustained were caused or contributed to by the police; whether the force used by police officers on the man was excessive; and if he was treated differently on the grounds of his race.

During our investigation, we gathered statements from the officers involved, spoke to the injured party and one member of the public who witnessed the aftermath of the incident. We reviewed the available officer body worn video (BWV) and CCTV footage.

We also reviewed the officers’ previous stop and search records, use of force data and the rationale provided by the officers for their actions.

Our investigation concluded in November 2020.

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.

We concluded that the man being detained was justified and in line with policy. The evidence did not suggest the officer’s decision-making to conduct a stop and search was racially motivated.

We determined the use of Taser by a second officer was reasonable, necessary and proportionate in the circumstances. There was no evidence to indicate this particular use of force on the man was racially motivated.

We recommended words of advice for the officer not wearing BWV at the time of the incident. The BWV footage available to this investigation was recorded by the officers who arrived on the scene later. The officer stated he was heading to a shop to buy some dinner when he came across this incident and there was no evidence to undermine the officer’s account.

We recommended words of advice for the officer to wear BWV when leaving the police station in uniform in case he is called to deal with a spontaneous incident.

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.