Firearm officers cleared over boy’s water pistol arrest
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said armed police officers who surrounded and arrested a 13-year-old black boy after he mistook his water cannon for a real gun acted “reasonably in the circumstances” .
The child, known as “Child X”, was handcuffed and confronted by sharpshooters in Hackney, east London, in July last year.
The police watchdog launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from the boy’s family and said that despite the incident causing distress to the boy, the officers’ actions were “reasonable”.
The mother of Child
In a statement released through her lawyer, she said: “From the day this horrific incident occurred, it became clear to me that if my son were a 13-year-old white man, the police would not treat him like He treated him like that.” Old boy. “
The IOPC said its investigation found “no evidence” that the officer who reported seeing the gun was influenced by the child’s race.
The Metropolitan Police have previously apologized The “trauma” caused to the boy.
The IOPC said that at around 15:45 BST, a patrol officer reported seeing the boy pull out “what appeared to be a handgun” and point it at a woman on Buxton Road before the pair rode. leave.
After the sighting was declared a firearms incident, multiple armed police officers were sent to the scene to search for the boy, the report said.
When they saw him riding towards them, they used a police car to make “tactical contact” with him, driving him into a wall.
He was subsequently surrounded by police and arrested, but no toy gun was found.
When the boy’s mother appeared and explained he was playing with a toy water gun, the boy was released from custody and his handcuffs were removed, regulators said.
He later went to hospital for treatment for bruises.
IOPC regional director Charmaine Arbouin said the incident was “distressing” for the child but officers were working to protect the public.
“Police have a duty to protect the public from harm and the evidence from our investigation supports the deputy’s belief that he thought he may have seen a real gun.”
