Injuries received during arrest - Merseyside Police, March 2018

In September 2017 Merseyside Police officers stopped and searched a man. He was found to be in possession of a controlled drug, and had a knife clipped to his waistband. Immediately after this search, and before he was handcuffed, the man tried to escape from the officers to avoid arrest. Police officers used force to stop him, which included taking him to the ground, two punches to the face and one knee strike, after the man had reached towards his waistband where earlier the knife had been found. The man was said to have suffered a broken nose.

This incident was not referred to us until March 2018, when the man made a compensation claim to Merseyside Police via his solicitor.

Our investigators collected statements made by the officers involved at the time to Merseyside Police. We were unable to obtain an account from the man involved, or any non-police witnesses. Due to the length of time between the incident and us becoming aware of it, no CCTV or body-worn video footage of the incident was available. No medical evidence was supplied and we were therefore unable to confirm the injuries sustained by the man. All of the officers were treated as witnesses throughout the investigation.

We found some elements of conflict, in the accounts of the officers and the summary of events provided by the man’s solicitor, regarding the use of force, whether or not it amounted to an assault, and the extent of the man’s injuries.

Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that, even to the lower standard of proof, there was insufficient evidence to indicate that any officer behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.