Complaint of injuries received during arrest - West Midlands Police, February 2018

On 4 February 2018, a man was ejected from a bar in Birmingham City Centre by door staff. The man was then arrested by West Midlands Police officers for being drunk and disorderly. The man resisted and officers used force to effect his arrest. Following the incident, the man lodged a complaint that he sustained a number of injuries, including a fractured eye socket.

During the investigation, we collected evidence from West Midlands Police including use of force forms, policies and procedures. We also obtained witness statements from officers involved. Our investigators also obtained an account from the man involved. We obtained and analysed CCTV footage from the bar and from venues opposite where the incident happened.

The investigation found evidence that the man may have been injured prior to police arrival as a result of the physical contact between him and two members of the public outside the bar he was ejected from. The evidence supports that there was a level of physical contact with police and the man, however, there was no evidence to support that the police caused the fracture to the man’s left eye socket.

At the end of the investigation we were of the opinion that the force used by officers to detain and arrest the man was reasonable, necessary and proportionate, and we therefore did not uphold the man’s complaints.