Use of excessive force and unprofessional language during restraint - Greater Manchester Police, March 2018

On 29 March 2018, paramedics from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) requested police assistance for a man whom they were treating, who was biting and spitting at them. Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) attended and spoke to the man in the ambulance. The man was verbally abusive before spitting at one of the officers. One of the officers immediately restrained him. The man was then arrested, handcuffed, and taken to both hospital and custody.

The incident was captured on an officer’s body-worn camera. There were indications that the force used by the officer may not have been reasonable in the circumstances, and that the officer may therefore have committed a criminal offence of assault towards the man.

During the investigation, investigators obtained witness statements from the paramedics and the police officers who attended the incident. They also reviewed the body-worn camera footage.

We interviewed the officer who restrained the man under caution for an alleged offence of assault towards the man. The officer denied using excessive force, and stated that their rationale for using such force was that it was the only tactic available to gain control of an escalating situation. The paramedics and other officers present all stated that they had no concerns with the officer’s use of force. We were unable to obtain an account from the man.

At the end of the investigation we were of the opinion that there was insufficient evidence upon which a reasonable panel, properly directed, could find a case to answer for misconduct for the force used the officer. In the absence of spit-hoods, there was little option other than physical force as the man had been spitting at the paramedics before police attendance and verbal communication had not worked.

We were also of the opinion that the language the officer had used with the man and the tone of their verbal communication could be assessed as unprofessional, and that GMP may want to consider this as a performance matter. We concluded our investigation in November 2018.

After reviewing our report, GMP agreed that the officer had no case to answer for their use of force, but that their language and tone had been unprofessional. They advised that the officer would receive management action.