Two Met Police officers commit misconduct in stop and search of south London schoolboy, says watchdog

28 September 2024, 15:04

Two Metropolitan Police officers have been found to have committed misconduct after handcuffing a 14-year-old black schoolboy “for longer than necessary” during a stop and search in south London, a watchdog has said.

PC McCorley Clewes and former PC Benjamin Morgan were among four officers involved in the stop in Blackhorse Lane, Croydon, in June 2022 following reports of a stolen mobile phone.

After being spotted near the location of the alleged robbery, the boy, known as Child B, was restrained but nothing was found on him, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

The IOPC investigated the incident following a complaint from the boy’s mother and they found the officers “failed to take into account his age” and kept him in handcuffs for “longer than necessary”.

The watchdog’s regional director Mel Palmer described Child B as someone who was "small in stature".

"The officers failed to take into account his age, keeping him in handcuffs for longer than necessary after nothing was found during the search," she said.

"Their actions and use of force were clearly of concern to a number of bystanders who raised issues at the time to the officers."

Officers had received a report that four black boys aged around 14, three wearing black puffer coats and one wearing a dark blue hoodie, had robbed a phone from a 13-year-old boy, the IOPC said.

One of the robbers was said to have claimed they had a knife, although the victim did not report seeing a knife, the IOPC added.

Child B was visibly upset and told officers he was wearing his school uniform under the hoodie, the IOPC added.

Mobile phone footage recorded by a witness and officers’ body-worn video was analysed by investigators from the IOPC.

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The watchdog said on Thursday that an independent panel found the officers' actions amounted to misconduct.

This was specifically related to the use of force for handcuffing the child for longer than necessary, and for equality and diversity.

Allegations PC Morgan had repeatedly asked Child B for his details - when he had no power to insist on being given those details - and threatened to contact his school were also found to be in breach of integrity standards, the IOPC said.

PC Clewes was also found to have breached the standard of authority, respect and courtesy for his manner when speaking to the child's mother and members of the public.

The officer was given a final written warning for two years and former officer Morgan could not be sanctioned as he had already resigned from the force, the watchdog added.

Earlier in the week the force announced a new “child-first” approach to policing in London.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers would receive training in childhood vulnerability and "adultification bias", where young people from certain backgrounds were viewed as more grown up.

The watchdog said they had identified learning for the Met Police that mainly related to its policy on visual identification of suspects and its implementation, and had recommended refresher training as part of its investigation.