Complaint of excessive use of force and racial discrimination - Kent Police, March 2018

In March 2018 we received a complaint from a man who alleged that he received an injury to his hand as a result of excessive force used by Kent Police officers. He claimed this occurred during his arrest for criminal damage following a call to police made by his partner. The man also alleged that racial discrimination by one officer was the reason excessive force was used.

During the investigation, investigators examined the body-worn video footage of the entire incident, and obtained statements from several witnesses, including the attending officers. The complainant did not wish to engage with the investigation from the outset.

Evidence indicated that the man’s hand injury may have occurred prior to police attendance, since he admitted to the officers he had punched the door and broken his little knuckle. We also found no evidence that the officer had treated the man differently due to his race.

At the end of the investigation, we were of the opinion that there was insufficient evidence to indicate that the officers’ use of force was unlawful, or that one of the officers had discriminated against the man because of his race.

We did not uphold the man’s complaints.