Firearm officers who arrested a child playing with water gun pistol in Hackney cleared of wrong doing

Officers actions in water pistol arrest incident were reasonable, investigation finds | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)

 

Admin I Friday, December 13, 2024

 

LONDON, Nigeria – The Independent Office for Policy Conduct, IOPC has exonerated firearms officers from the London Metropolitan Police who arrested a young child playing with water gun.

“An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into the actions of armed officers who arrested a child who had been playing with a water pistol has found they acted reasonably and correctly”, the IOPC said.

The IOPC said there was no evidence the child was treated different due to his ethnicity or of adultification during the incident in Buxted Road, Hackney, in July 2023.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, in charge of 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 become 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.

“None the less, this incident was understandably extremely distressing for the boy involved as well as his family and we remain sorry for the impact upon them.”