Use of force and damage to vehicle during police stop – Metropolitan Police Service, November 2021

On 4 November 2021, the Metropolitan Police Service stopped a car on Blenheim Road. A police officer used force to gain entry to the car by using his baton to smash the driver’s side window.

Another officer pushed the man against a garage door and delivered a knee strike to his thigh, when the man had been extracted from the car and was stood on the pavement with his hands cuffed to the rear.

We investigated how police conducted the stop of the car and interacted with the man.

During the investigation, we interviewed the officers under criminal caution and reviewed a significant amount of body worn video footage. We made attempts to contact the man and a key police witness. We obtained and analysed further evidence including relevant intelligence briefings and use of force forms.

Our investigation concluded in August 2022.

We determined there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

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.

We did not identify any organisational learning.