Allegations of excessive use of force and discrimination - Metropolitan Police Service, February 2016

A man was stopped by a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer on 8 February 2016 while driving his car in south-east London.

While the officer had no speed monitoring equipment, he suspected the man of driving above the 30mph limit and asked to see the man’s driving licence. The officer was accompanied by a police community support worker. An altercation followed, which led to the man being arrested and handcuffed for failing to provide his licence.

More officers arrived at the scene and the man produced his driving licence. He was de-arrested, but told he had been reported for summons for failing to produce his licence and for resisting a constable in the execution of duty.

The man made a number of complaints regarding the encounter, including that he was stopped under a false allegation, arrested unnecessarily, subjected to unnecessary force and aggression, subjected to a search of his person and of his car, and that he was discriminated against due to his ethnicity and disability.

This case was investigated locally by the MPS twice and the man appealed against the outcomes of both investigations. We then determined to investigate the matter independently.

Our investigation sought to establish whether the arrest and any use of force by the police officer was justified and proportionate; also, whether the officers treated the man differently because of his ethnicity and disability.

There was initially an indication the police constable may have breached the standards of professional behaviour.

We obtained a full account from the complainant and from all the police officers involved. There were no independent witnesses to the incident, no CCTV or other evidence available. We analysed the accounts for any evidence to support or refute the allegations made by complainant.

In our opinion there was insufficient evidence on which a reasonable tribunal properly directed could find that the officer had breached the standards of professional behaviour Authority Respect and Courtesy, or Equality and Diversity. There was no evidence that the use of force by the officer was excessive in the circumstances.

There was no evidence to indicate that the man was stopped or dealt with in a different manner because of his disability, nor that the man’s ethnicity played a part in how the officer interacted with him.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that the officer had behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or committed a criminal offence.

After reviewing our report, the force agreed.