Police interaction with a man that circulated on social media – Lancashire Constabulary, April 2020

In April 2020, Lancashire Constabulary officers attended premises in Accrington to execute a search warrant. On arrival, the entrance was blocked by a van and a car with four young men. Two officers got out of their police vehicle and spoke to one of the men to ask them to move the vehicles. Part of the interaction was captured on mobile phone footage by the man’s friend. This footage was widely circulated on social media and local and national news outlets.

The man made a complaint about the incident, stating the officer had belittled and humiliated him and had taken powers into his own hands. He also alleged that the officer assaulted him by snatching his car keys from his hands and spitting while talking. This interaction took place during the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ period. The man further complained that the officer did not observe the two-metre social distancing rule advised by the UK government.

The other officer did not appear to challenge or report this officer’s behaviour.

During the investigation, we obtained accounts from the two attending police officers and took statements from the complainant and one of the other men. We also took statements from other police witnesses. We reviewed available video footage of the incident. Mobile phone footage showed an officer shouted he would “lock up” the man and would “make something up.” There was conflicting evidence in relation to what happened before the video footage started and the reasons for the officer’s behaviour. The two police officers were not wearing body-worn video cameras. We compared the available evidence to relevant legislation, policy and guidance.

Our investigation concluded in December 2020. We waited for all external proceedings to be completed before publishing our findings.

We concluded that one officer had a case to answer for misconduct. At a misconduct meeting in May 2021 he accepted breaching the standards of professional behaviour in respect of: integrity; discreditable conduct; authority, respect and courtesy; use of force; and duties and responsibilities. He was given a written warning. We concluded that the second officer had no case to answer and therefore he was not subject to any proceedings. Lancashire Constabulary agreed with our findings.

We 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, we did identify learning in respect of the availability of body-worn cameras for all officers. This matter is being addressed by Lancashire Constabulary through their procurement of new body-worn cameras. Therefore, no organisational recommendations were issued.