Man injured whilst being restrained by officers – Metropolitan Police Service, March 2023

On 7 March 2023, police were called to a gym following 999 calls reporting that a man was behaving erratically. Initial reports stated the male was trying to “fight people” and that he appeared to be suffering a mental health episode. Two Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers responded to the call.

They found the man in the shower area of the men’s changing room and identified that he appeared to be suffering from ‘acute behaviour disturbance’ (ABD). The man did not respond to the officers’ orders and he was subsequently Tasered a number of times by both officers. The man was eventually restrained in handcuffs.

Following the restraint of the male, further MPS officers arrived, responding to a call that had been made for urgent assistance. Five officers were subsequently involved in the restraint of the man whilst they awaited the arrival of the London Ambulance Service (LAS). The man was restrained in the prone position for six minutes before being moved onto his side by these five officers.

After the man appeared to appear to try to bang his head on the ground, he was returned to the prone position where he was restrained for another eight minutes, until LAS arrived. Paramedics decided that the man was very unwell and he was eventually transported to hospital before being sectioned under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

The matter was automatically referred to the IOPC because of the injuries the man received. During the course of the investigation a complaint was made.

The investigation was split into two strands: the initial strand being in relation to the two officers who utilised their Tasers; the second strand relating to the five officers who restrained the man.

During the investigation, we gathered evidence including: CCTV footage from inside the gym; body worn video (BWV) from the officers who attended the incident; accounts from the paramedics who attended and other eyewitnesses inside the gym. We also conducted a witness appeal outside the gym.

IOPC investigators received statements from all seven officers and interviewed them. We got reports from a Taser expert and a use of force expert.

We finalised our investigation in November 2023.

We concluded 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.

In relation to the two officers who attended initially, we were of the opinion they had no case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct. We suggested the Reflective Practice Review Process regarding the use of Taser and mental health.

In relation to the five officers who attended later, we were of the opinion that there is no case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct. We suggested the Reflective Practice Review Process regarding acute behaviour disturbance, positional asphyxia and the National Decision Model (the police framework in which decisions can be examined and challenged, both at the time and afterwards).

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.