Met officer dismissed over unreasonable force and disrespectful treatment of detained man

A Metropolitan Police officer who repeatedly called a detained man an “idiot”, pushed him into a brick wall and threw him face-first onto the pavement while handcuffed behind his back, has been dismissed without notice following a misconduct hearing.

It followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). 

PC Omer Farok, who was attached to the Central North Basic Command Unit, was found to have committed gross misconduct over his treatment of a vulnerable homeless man during an encounter in Parker Street, central London, (WC2), on 15 June 2024.

The Met referred the matter to the IOPC following the incident, and we carried out an independent investigation.

Our investigation examined body-worn video footage, CCTV, witness accounts, police records and expert evidence relating to the use of force.

Our investigators established that officers attended reports that a man had entered an unattended vehicle. Within moments of arriving, PC Farok detained and handcuffed the man, who remained at the scene and had made no attempt to leave before police arrived. 

During the subsequent search, PC Farok repeatedly pushed the man into a corner of a brick wall, referred to him as an “idiot” on numerous occasions and ignored requests from him to explain why he was being accused of resisting. Footage also showed the officer manipulating the handcuffs in a way that caused pain while continuing to accuse him of resisting.

PC Farok then took hold of the man's upper body and took him to the ground with force. As he was handcuffed behind his back, the man was unable to break his fall and landed face-first on the pavement, suffering a laceration near his right eyebrow that required hospital treatment and left a pool of blood on the pavement.

Following the takedown, the officer continued to shout "stop resisting" despite the man lying injured on the ground and not appearing to resist.

At the end of our investigation, we decided PC Farok should face a gross misconduct hearing. Following the conclusion of the hearing on Friday (30 Oct), which was organised by the force, the panel found gross misconduct proven and dismissed PC Farok with immediate effect. He was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour relating to use of force and authority, respect and courtesy. 

He will also be placed on the College of Policing barred list, preventing him from working in policing in the future.

IOPC director of engagement Amanda Rowe said: "Police officers are entrusted with considerable powers and must exercise them lawfully and with self-control, while also treating members of the public with respect and dignity.

“PC Farok repeatedly used disrespectful and degrading language towards the man and used force that was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate in the circumstances, resulting in the man hitting his head on the ground and receiving a head injury.

"Conduct of this nature risks damaging public confidence in policing and falls well below the standards expected of officers. The officer has now been held to account following our investigation."

On conclusion of our investigation in December 2024, we also sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service which charged PC Farok with assault by beating. He was cleared following a trial in November 2025. 

Criminal trials and disciplinary proceedings serve two different purposes. Criminal proceedings are held to decide whether a criminal offence has been committed while police disciplinary proceedings are to determine whether an officer may have breached police professional standards and if so, what the sanction will be.