Investigation into use of force during an arrest – Avon and Somerset Constabulary, April 2023

A police officer arrested a woman on a night out for criminal damage and being drunk and disorderly in a public place. The officer had witnessed the woman kicking a bin in a city centre while under the influence of alcohol.

The officer approached the woman from behind and knocked her legs out from under her, causing her to fall heavily to the ground. The officer handcuffed and arrested her. She was released from custody the next day, and the police decided not to take any further action.

The woman’s partner made a complaint about the incident, reporting that the arresting officer used unreasonable force, resulting in serious bruising. They also complained that the officer did not try to verbally de-escalate the situation before making physical contact, and that their partner was a vulnerable woman who was intoxicated.

The force received a further anonymous complaint, with a link to footage posted online of the incident.

We received a complaint referral from the force and decided to independently investigate how the woman was treated, including how officers communicated with her, the officer’s use of force, the way in which she was arrested, and whether officers treated the woman differently because of her gender, sexual orientation or mental health. We also examined if the decisions and actions of police officers were in line with relevant legislation and local and national policies.

Our investigators obtained CCTV from the area, took witness statements from the woman and other officers at the incident, and reviewed relevant police documents. We considered police policies and procedures, and training material regarding the use of force. We interviewed the officer involved under criminal caution for the offence of common assault.

We concluded there was an indication that the arresting officer may have committed a criminal offence and had behaved in a manner to justify disciplinary proceedings. We referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service who decided not to pursue criminal proceedings.

We found that the woman had no opportunity to react to the officer’s presence, and the officer’s use of force was inappropriate and disproportionate. The evidence also showed that the officer used significantly more force than they admitted to custody staff.

We found that the officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct. We shared our report with the force, who agreed. We decided that disciplinary proceedings should be brought against the officer and that they should take the form of a gross misconduct hearing.

The gross misconduct hearing concluded in February 2025. The officer was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, and use of force. These amounted to a finding of gross misconduct, and the officer was given a final written warning lasting five years.

The officer was not found to have breached the standards for equality and diversity, or orders and instructions.

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.