Police restraint of a man – Merseyside Police, July 2021

On 22 July 2021, a man was detained by Merseyside police and subsequently taken to hospital. At approximately 6.20pm, while detained in a room with two officers outside in the corridor, the man kicked the door. One officer entered the room and pushed and punched a man in order to stun him and gain compliance.

After restraining the man and handcuffing him, footage showed the officer exiting the room with a hand injury. He later informed his sergeant that he had broken his knuckle on his right hand and returned to the police station later that evening with his hand in a sling and his fingers taped together.

We investigated the circumstances of the interaction at the hospital specifically to consider if the force used by the officer was proportionate, necessary and appropriate in the circumstances. Additionally, we considered if the officer acted in accordance with his training and local and national policies.

During the course of the investigation, we obtained accounts from witnesses and examined CCTV and body worn video footage. The subject police officer was interviewed under criminal and misconduct caution.

During an interview with our investigators and after being shown the CCTV hospital footage of the incident, the officer accepted that when he opened the door the man was in fact stood with his arms by his side and his fists were not clenched, after initially stating this was the case.

The officer could not recall how many times punches were thrown but the man can be heard on body worn footage saying he had been punched three times. An officer’s description of the injuries on the man noted three different locations of marks: the right eyebrow, top of the head and a cut behind the right ear.

Our investigation concluded in December 2021.

We found a case to answer for gross misconduct and a two-day hearing organised by the force concluded on 4 October 2022. The independently chaired panel found gross misconduct proven against the former officer. The standards breached were use of force, discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, and duties and responsibilities. He would have been dismissed without notice if he had not already resigned.

We passed our findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, who decided not to authorise any charges in this case.

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. In this case, the investigation did not identify any organisational learning.