Complaints of use of excessive force and intimidation - Lancashire Constabulary, July 2014

On Monday 28 July 2014 Lancashire Constabulary officers arrested a woman for being drunk and disorderly. She sustained a broken wrist in the course of her arrest/detention.

Following her arrest the woman complained to Lancashire Constabulary that excessive force had been used. The force initially assessed the complaint as suitable to be investigated locally. An investigation was not commenced until December 2014, after the woman had pleaded guilty to offences of assaulting a police officer and drunk and disorderly at court.

In December 2014, the woman made the following allegations:

• An officer kicked her to the back of the leg during her arrest, which caused her to fall, resulting in a broken wrist.
• A number of officers kicked her when she was on the floor.
• Handcuffs were applied and used incorrectly and had a negative impact on her injury.
• Her treatment in hospital by officers, including officers laughing at her and intimidating her.
• An officer lied about an illness, which prevented her from attending when the woman went to court.

The woman was informed in January 2015 that no further action would be taken regarding her complaint. Both she and her solicitor expressed dissatisfaction in the way the investigation has been handled on a number of occasions. After the woman continued to repeat her complaints and express her dissatisfaction, the force referred this matter to us in August 2017 to be re-investigated.

We obtained a detailed statement from the woman. We attempted to trace and interview those she had been out with that evening. Two of them provided statements to assist the investigation. Investigators attempted to obtain a copy of mobile phone footage of the woman’s arrest and the period after, which was recorded by the woman’s cousin. The footage could not be located. Investigators also reviewed a number of duty statements made at the time of the incident. Further statements were taken from those officers who witnessed the arrest of the woman and from the officer who arrested her.

We obtained and reviewed the woman’s medical records. We also identified the medical professional who treated the woman and took a statement. We were able to identify the receptionists at hospital and the nurse in charge but they could not recall anything of this incident due to the passage of time. We obtained and reviewed relevant court documents and asked the force to confirm the officer’s sickness.

Based on the evidence available we were of the opinion that the woman’s complaints that excessive force was used by officers during the woman’s arrest and detention and that handcuffs were wrongly applied should not be upheld. We believed that any force used by police officers in this incident was reasonable, necessary and proportionate in the circumstances.

We did not uphold the woman’s complaint that officers laughed at her and intimidated her at hospital, as we did not find any independent evidence supporting these allegations.

We also did not uphold the complaint that an officer lied about an illness to avoid attending the woman’s court hearing. Evidence indicated that the officer had been signed off work sick and so did not have a duty to attend court.

After reviewing our report, the force agreed with our findings.