Sussex PC Must Undergo "Learning" After Controversial Restraint During July Arrest In Brighton

Monday, 21 December 2020 11:38

By John Warburton @Warblefly

The Independent Office for Police Conduct says a Sussex Police constable, who was pictured pinning a detainee to the ground in Brighton's Montpelier Road in July, will be "subject to learning".

The arrest of the 28-year-old man on July 7 quickly became the subject of much scrutiny through social media and in the press, coming little over a month after the killing of George Floyd during his arrest in a street in Minneapolis.

In stating the path forward for the Sussex Police officer involved, the IOPC has shone a light on what immediately preceded the incident in the street — but still found that the officer had a case to answer for misconduct.

The IOPC said today (December 21) that the officer concerned must now work with his supervisor:

"to reflect on what happened, identify any actions required to put the issues right and learn from the incident to prevent reoccurrence."

The Sussex Police constable was one of several officers involved in the arrest of the man on suspicion of threats to cause criminal damage.

But, according to the IOPC, video footage widely shared on social media showed only part of the incident, which was the restraint of the man.

Investigators said their work went beyond what was seen on the street, and particularly focused on the use of force prior to the events shown in the video.

They examined officers' body worn video to see the full incident.

The IOPC's investigation found that the officer had a case to answer for misconduct concerning his use of force and that it would be appropriate to be dealt with by way of reflective practice.

In today's statement, investigators claimed Sussex Police agreed with their findings.

IOPC Regional Director Graham Beesley said:

"This was a thorough and detailed investigation of an incident that attracted significant public interest at the time.

"Our investigation looked at the whole picture of the incident, not solely a social media snapshot, and found the best outcome was reflective practice for the officer over his use of force."

The office added that, under The Policing and Crime Act 2017, there is a new process which encourages officers to reflect and learn from any mistakes or errors.

This is called a "Reflective Practice Review Process".

It explained that these changes aim to increase the emphasis on finding solutions, rather than focusing on an exclusively punitive approach to errors and mistakes.