Investigation into two stop and searches – Metropolitan Police Service, March 2023
A police officer drove into a car park and approached a group of people standing together. The officer spoke to the group, asking if anyone was smoking drugs. One man replied they were not, and asked the officer to move his car as it had blocked him in.
The man tried to move away, and the officer decided to search the man. He handcuffed him and called for assistance. The officer searched the man. No drugs were found. The man alleged the officer used unnecessary force when detaining him for the search.
Five weeks later, the same officer was on-duty. A man on a bicycle passed the officer and the officer signalled for him to stop. The cyclist continued and was stopped by a security officer further down the street.
The officer decided to search the cyclist as he had failed to stop, and he believed he may be carrying drugs. No drugs were found.
We received two conduct referrals from the force and decided to independently investigate both stop and searches. We considered if the officer had reasonable grounds to conduct both stop and searches, whether any force used was reasonable, necessary and proportionate, and whether the race of the men who were searched influenced the officer’s decision making and actions.
Our investigators interviewed the police officer, and took statements from several witnesses, including the men who were stopped and searched. We reviewed local and national policies and guidance around stop and search powers, and examined body worn video, CCTV and mobile phone footage.
We found that the officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct with regards to the grounds for the stop and searches, the force that was used in the first incident, and for unnecessarily escalating the situations. We shared our report with the force, who disagreed with our findings. The force indicated the officer had no case to answer, and the officer’s unsatisfactory performance should be dealt with in a performance meeting.
We decided that disciplinary proceedings should be brought against the officer and that they should take the form of a gross misconduct hearing.
We found no evidence that the officer displayed a pattern of behaviour around his decision making and use of stop and search powers that was influenced by prejudice, including race.
The gross misconduct hearing concluded in December 2024. The allegations relating to the first stop and search were not proven. The allegations concerning the second stop and search were proven and referred to as an ‘unlawful search’.
The officer was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct. These amounted to a finding of misconduct and the officer was given a written warning lasting 18 months.
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 in this case.