Complaint regarding excessive use of force - Metropolitan Police Service, March 2017

On 27 March 2017 a woman called the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) regarding a domestic incident involving her son. MPS officers responded to the call and pursued the teenager on foot before two plain-clothes officers were able to detain and handcuff him. They were joined shortly after by two uniformed police officers. The son was arrested for criminal damage. A fifth police officer in plain-clothes then approached the teenager and allegedly applied a knee-strike to him and took him to the ground. The son alleged that this was racially motivated.

The woman made a complaint about her son’s treatment by the police. Two of the officers had also reported the incident to their supervisor when they returned to the station.

During the investigation, investigators obtained statements from responding officers, the victim and complainant, examined CCTV footage and criminally interviewed the subject.

Two of the officers stated that they were shocked and surprised that the officer who applied a knee strike to the teenaged had intervened in the manner he had, as they thought they had the situation under control and did not require any assistance.

When interviewed, the teenager stated that the officer did not make any comments of a racist nature but perceived that the officer’s actions had been motivated by his race.

Based on the evidence available the Investigator found an indication that the subject may have committed a criminal offence of assault. The Investigator was also of the opinion that there was sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable tribunal, properly directed, could find gross misconduct in respect of the officer for excessive use of force, and insufficient evidence that his actions were motivated by the teenager’s race.

We submitted a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, who decided not to prosecute.

After reviewing our report, the MPS agreed with our findings and that the officer should attend a gross misconduct hearing for his excessive use of force.

At the hearing, the panel found gross misconduct not proven, on the basis that the officer believed it was necessary to use force to defend the other officers, and that the amount of force used was reasonable in the circumstances.