Police contact with a man before his arrest - Metropolitan Police Service, July 2019
In July 2019, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) spoke with a man about a traffic offence in Poplar, East London. The officers arrested the man and in doing so used force taking the man to the ground. Whilst restraining the man on the ground, it appeared the man suffered two seizures.
We conducted house to house enquiries and a witness appeal to gather evidence. We interviewed members of the public and key police witnesses. We also reviewed and analysed body worn video footage and mobile phone footage taken by members of the public. We interviewed the officer subject to our investigation under misconduct caution.
We found a case to answer for misconduct and recommended for it to be dealt with through management action, focusing on responsibilities under the Equality Act to consider and make reasonable adjustments, tactical communication, de-escalation, officer safety and medical implications relating to takedowns where pressure to the neck area is applied.
We also identified areas for organisational learning and issued national recommendations to be considered and implementedn.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that the College of Policing ensure, as part of its scenario-based training under the revised National Personal Safety Training Package provided to officers, that emphasis is placed on treating individuals according to how they present. The risks of not doing so and assuming a person is feigning a medical issue should also be highlighted. The College should consider engaging the support of relevant stakeholders to develop effective scenarios for inclusion. The revised training should also be reinforced by guidance in the updated Personal Safety Manual.
This follows an IOPC investigation in which a man appeared to have a seizure while being restrained by officers. Some of the officers believed the man may have been feigning the seizure. The IOPC is also aware of previous cases where officers have assumed somebody was feigning illness or injury when they were in fact genuinely unwell or injured. Such assumptions can be dangerous and delay much-needed medical attention.
Recommendation accepted:
The new scenario based National Personal Safety training is currently being developed by the College of Policing. The training emphasises the importance of treating people according to how they present. It builds on the Conflict Management Guidelines launched by the college in September 2020 and the supporting 1 day training which will be launched on the 1st April 2021. Both have been designed and developed to reduce conflict and the use of force by officers.
As with all scenario training a lot of the learning happens during debrief. Medical issues and officers approach to those issues will be part of some scenarios and will form part of the de-brief process.
The training will not focus on feigning a medical emergency as we feel this would send the wrong message to officers and staff. The National Personal Safety Manual (NPSM) is clear that anyone presenting with a medical issue should be treated as a medical issues unless the officer is told otherwise by a medical professional. The training will focus on this. This is a slight change in focus from the IOPC recommendation but one we believe will result in a better outcome.
As this is already very clear in the NPSM we will not be updating the Manual.
The College are currently seeking community stakeholders to act as critical friends in the development of the curriculum. We have staff associations and support groups involved in the Strategic group including the Disabled Police Association who are able to quality assure the training.
An equality impact assessment is being developed along with the training.
The IOPC recommends the College of Policing ensures officers have guidance and training on how a Blue Badge might provide evidence of a disability they need to consider.
This follows an IOPC investigation where officers arrested and restrained a man after he refused to move his car, which was alleged to be causing an obstruction. His wife was sat in the car along with his two children, one of whom was disabled. The officers were aware the car had a blue badge displayed but did not ask any questions about this, and therefore did not appear to consider whether any reasonable adjustments were required. Blue Badges help people with disabilities or health conditions, whether they are the driver or a passenger, park closer to their destination. Police forces are required under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for those with a disability. There is currently no reference made to blue badges in Authorised Professional Practice or national police training.
Recommendation accepted:
The College of Policing have reviewed this recommendation and feel that it is too narrow in focus.
As a result we have reviewed the current national curriculum for Student Police Officers, Special Constables and Police Community Support Officer’s. The current curriculum already includes learning in relation to vulnerability and recognising vulnerability. We have accepted that this does not go far enough. The curriculum has been updated to include more on ‘hidden’ vulnerabilities and what signs officers and staff can look for including but not limited to Blue Badges, bracelets, badges etc. that may link to medical conditions which may result in a person being vulnerable and/or need different approaches or considerations by offices and staff.