Investigation into use of force during arrest - Northumbria Police, August 2022

On 29 August 2022, Northumbria Police officers were called to a report of a large fight on Fenkle Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A number of officers responded to these reports and following their attendance a number of arrests were made. Subsequently, on 3 September 2022, a member of the public complained to Northumbria Police about the actions of an officer during their arrest and alleged that force used against them had been excessive. On 9 September 2022, Northumbria Police referred this complaint to the IOPC, and we decided to carry out an independent investigation of the incident.

During the investigation, IOPC investigators examined police officers’ body worn video footage, obtained statements from several other police officers and members of the public, sought independent CCTV footage and interviewed the officer who was the subject of the complaint. We also considered the officer’s actions against local and national policy, procedures and guidance.

We concluded our investigation in January 2023 and found the officer had no case to answer in respect of his use of force during the man’s arrest, however, we did find that he had a case to answer for misconduct in that he may have been insufficiently respectful and courteous during his initial interaction with the man and should attend a misconduct meeting. We shared our report with Northumbria Police who agreed with our findings. Sadly, the officer has passed away. As a result, no misconduct proceedings were held.  

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 learning.