Investigation into whether man’s race and disability influenced police response and use of force – British Transport Police, April 2025

British Transport Police (BTP) officers were on patrol at an underground train station. A black man who was registered blind passed through an open ticket barrier at the station without tapping a card on the reader.

A police officer approached the man and asked him to stop so they could check his ticket. The man did not stop, and a discussion ensued between the man and the officer. The officer told the man that he could see she was a police officer and that he needed to stop. The man raised his voice and swore at the officer in response, telling her that he could not see and waving his pass in front of her face.

Another police officer witnessed this interaction and ran towards the man, colliding with him and causing the man to fall to the ground. The man reported back pain after the fall and was taken to hospital. The man later complained to BTP, reporting excessive use of force and racial discrimination.

We received a complaint referral from BTP and decided to independently investigate the force used during the police interaction with the man, and if that force was necessary, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances. We considered whether the man was treated differently because of his race, and whether the man’s disability was appropriately considered.

Our investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the train station and body worn video footage from the police officers at the scene. We took statements from the officers who were there, as well as the man and other witnesses at the train station. We considered officer pocket notebook entries and their previous complaint records, and we reviewed the man’s medical records.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner to justify disciplinary proceedings.

We found that the officer who ran towards the man and collided with him, honestly and reasonably believed that the man was about to assault the other police officer. He used an appropriate level of force to avert that danger and to try to stop the situation from escalating. We found that the officer was not aware the man was blind, and we found no evidence that the officer treated the man differently because of his race.

We did recommend that this officer would benefit from the reflective practice review process (RPRP). This process allows officers to learn from and reflect on what could have been done better.

We recommended that they reflect on how they could have approached the situation differently. This could have included taking slightly longer to gather information before acting, as per the National Decision Making model. We also recommended that BTP apologise to the man for not recognising that he was blind. BTP agreed with these recommendations.

We also recommended that BTP apologise for the force used and that it may not have been necessary. The force disagreed as they considered the use of force to be justified, proportionate and necessary due to the man’s conduct and behaviour towards officers.

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.