Firearms officer who ‘rammed’ boy off bike CLEARED after mistaking water pistol for real gun

An officer who knocked a 13-year-old boy off his bike after mistaking his water pistol for a real gun has been cleared of wrongdoing.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into the actions of armed officers who arrested the child has found they acted reasonably and correctly.

The boy suffered soft-tissue injuries after he was rammed off his bike by a police van and handcuffed as he was confronted by marksmen in Hackney, east London, in July last year.

The IOPC said it investigated allegations of “adultification and discrimination” by police officers against the child, who is black.

IOPC regional director Charmaine Arbouin said: “We know that this incident was distressing to the child involved and his family. Being arrested, handcuffed and searched by armed officers would have been a frightening experience for anyone, let alone a 13-year-old. We note the Met Police has apologised to the boy’s family for the distress caused.

“Police officers have a duty to protect the public from harm and the evidence from our investigation supported the first officer’s belief that he thought he may have seen a real firearm.

“The decision to send armed officers to the scene following the report of a firearm was in line with guidance and based on the evidence we obtained we found no indication that any officers behaved in a manner that would justify bringing disciplinary proceedings.”

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The incident took place at around 3.45pm on July 19, 2023, when the Met officer reported they had seen a male on a bicycle pull out what appeared to be a handgun and point it at a female on Buxted Road, Dalston before they both cycled off.

He described the firearm as “blue and white” and “shaped like a Glock” and the male’s age as approximately 16. The matter was declared a firearms incident by a tactical firearms commander and armed officers from both the Met and the City of London Police were sent to the area to locate the child.

Shortly before 4pm, armed response officers saw the child alone on Buxted Road cycling towards them and used their vehicle to make tactical contact with his bicycle at low speed, which knocked the child into a wall.

An officer asked the child where the gun was and he said it was a water gun and “it’s at home.” At the same time a member of the public can be heard repeatedly telling the officers that the child had a water gun. The child was searched and no item was found.

Campaign group the Alliance for Police Accountability, which supported the mother of the child, criticised the watchdog’s decision.

Chairman Lee Jasper said: “This case exemplifies the failure of both the Metropolitan Police and the IOPC to protect black children and hold officers accountable for the harm they cause. A 13-year-old black boy playing with a water pistol was treated as an armed criminal, brutalised, and left traumatised.

“The trauma inflicted on Child X and his family is part of a broader, systemic problem of institutional racism and adultification in policing. The Casey Review laid bare the institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police, but the IOPC continues to ignore this reality.

“How many more black children must suffer similar trauma before we see real change? We need immediate reforms to safeguard our children from these disproportionate and damaging interactions.

“Black communities are simply expected to suffer the realities of disproportionate policing and are left alone to deal with the deep trauma that is a consequence of disproportionate use of force and the routine denials of racism.”

In a written statement, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who runs policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “The IOPC has carried out a thorough and detailed investigation, examining a range of evidence including body worn video and dash cam footage and consulting with an independent firearms expert.

“It has found officers acted correctly, both in deciding to send firearms officers to the scene and then how they dealt with the incident on arrival.

“At the time there was very real concern a genuine firearm had been seen. Officers acted swiftly to deal with the potential threat, but then de-arrested the child as soon as it became clear he had been playing earlier with a water pistol.

“This incident shows just how difficult it can be to determine whether a firearm is real. The public would not wish us to hesitate in responding and risk a genuine firearm being used on the streets of London. We have a duty to protect the public from harm.

“I am pleased the IOPC has recognised this and the very difficult job our firearms officers do day in day out to keep London safe.”