Man injured while being arrested - Avon and Somerset Constabulary, January 2018

At 00.14am on 31 January 2018, Avon and Somerset Constabulary officers were dispatched to a service station in Bristol, following a report that two men were using abusive language, had smashed a bottle and were trying to smash a window.

Officers arrived and arrested two men on suspicion of drunk and disorderly behaviour. One of the men reportedly resisted arrest. He was handcuffed to the rear and put into the caged area of the police van while still struggling. After putting him in the van, the officers noticed a large amount of blood pooling underneath the man while he was lying on the van floor. They searched him and discovered a wound to his thigh and a large kitchen knife secreted in the waistband of his trousers. The officers put pressure on the wound and requested an ambulance. The man was taken to hospital and subsequently made a full recovery.

Our investigators obtained accounts from the officers, spoke with one of the attending paramedics, and reviewed CCTV and body-worn camera footage.

The evidence suggested that the man did sustain the injury in the course of the arrest. However, we did not identify any evidence suggesting that the officers involved could reasonably have foreseen, prevented or mitigated the injury.

Based on the evidence available, we found no indication that any police officer may have committed a criminal offence, or behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. We suggested that the performance of one officer may be considered to be unsatisfactory, in relation to the search he conducted on the man.

After reviewing our report, the force proposed to deal with this through management action for the officer. We agreed their proposal was appropriate.

We also found that the actions of officers when they found the man’s injury was commendable, and potentially saved his life.