Alleged excessive use of force during restraint - Metropolitan Police Service, March 2017

On 25 March 2017 Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers attempted to stop a car in Wembley, northwest London. The car subsequently drove off, narrowly missing the officers, who had come out of their vehicle. The officers circulated details of the car and the failure to stop via radio. Two plainclothes officer saw the car, followed it on foot and found it parked on a driveway. They detained the driver and the passenger. The driver was handcuffed with his hands in front of him. Body-worn video (BWV) worn by the officers showed that he was verbally abusive and struggling.

Two more MPS officers arrived at the scene. As the driver was being taken to the police van, he appeared to pull back and forth, as if trying to run away. One of the officers used force to restrain the man, including pulling his hair and using knee strikes.

The incident was referred to us on 19 April 2017 by the MPS as a conduct matter. We investigated the officer’s use of force towards the driver of the car.

We served the officer with a notice that he was under investigation. The officer provided us with a statement, but declined to answer the questions we asked him when we interviewed him under criminal and misconduct caution.

We were unable to obtain an account from the driver of the car. We examined BWV from the officers present at the scene, and conducted door-to-door enquiries in the vicinity of where the incident took place.

At the end of the investigation, the Lead Investigator was of the opinion that there was sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable tribunal could find gross misconduct in respect of the officer’s use of force.

After reviewing our report, the force disagreed with the Lead Investigator’s conclusion; they considered that the officer had acted according to his training, had used approved techniques, and had justified the level of force used. They provided a detailed rationale for their determination.

We reviewed their rationale and, after careful consideration, agreed that no further action should be taken.