Allegations of assault and excessive force - West Yorkshire Police, June 2017

On 11 June 2017, a man and his wife walked out of Leeds railway station after a day out. The man was walking slightly ahead of his wife and did not notice her having an epileptic seizure and falling to the ground. He turned round and started walking towards her. At that point two men and a woman joined her to provide assistance. One of the men was an off-duty West Yorkshire Police special constable, who thought that the man was drunk and may have assaulted his wife. The man had an altercation with the special constable, which escalated quickly. The special constable believed the man may assault him and restrained him by taking him to the ground.

Two British Transport Police community support officers (PCSOs) were called to assist with what they were told was a possible assault by the man against his wife. One of the officers handcuffed the man and detained him so that the man could explain what had happened. The man’s wife confirmed that she had epilepsy. The man complained that his leg was hurting and might be broken. An ambulance was called and the man was taken to hospital, where it was confirmed that he had sustained a serious break to his leg, which required surgery and a long period of rehabilitation.

The man made a complaint regarding the incident, alleging that the officer had used unreasonable and unnecessary force.

The force referred this to us as a complaint matter on 26 July 2017.

During the investigation, our investigators took statements from a number of witnesses, including police officers, members of the public and ambulance staff. We also interviewed the special constable under investigation and examined CCTV footage of the incident.

Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that the special constable’s decision to use force to restrain the man to prevent him from assaulting him was in line with legal and common-law definitions of self-defence.

Despite the serious injuries suffered by the man, the evidence did not indicate that the special constable acted outside of the applicable policies and procedures governing use of force.

We therefore did not consider there was sufficient evidence upon which a properly directed panel could find misconduct for the special constable, or that there were any issues with his performance that needed addressing.

After reviewing our report, West Yorkshire Police agreed with our findings.