The Metropolitan police has said there was no evidence of misconduct after a video of an altercation between police officers and a Black man went viral on social media.
The man – whose handle is @splashgrands on Twitter – said he was stopped by Metropolitan police officers in Clapham on October 18 .
He said the officers attempted to stop him in connection with an ongoing investigation and that, despite realising it was a case of mistaken identity, they then arrested him for assaulting a police officer.
Metropolitan police spokesman Chris Humphreys said: “We are aware of a thread on Twitter in which a man stopped by officers in Wandsworth has made allegations about the force used against him.”
Humphreys continued: “The Directorate of Professional Standards has been made aware of the interaction and has since reviewed the officers’ body worn video. No areas of misconduct have been identified.”
In the video on Twitter, police officers appear to hold the man against a wall as he tries to ask why they stopped him. Bystanders try to come to his defence and a woman off camera says: “He is entitled to know why you have stopped him.” Several people attempted pushing the police in the man’s defence.
The Twitter thread detailing the incident and posted on October 22 said: “I told them they got the wrong person. They called me back up and they beat me.”
According to the BBC the Metropolitan Police are “four times more likely” to use excessive force on Black people.
The police spokesman said: “During the stop, the man threw a coffee towards one of the officers. Two officers subsequently sustained minor injuries whilst attempting to detain the man. They were taken to hospital for treatment and later discharged.”
The man also posted a photo of the injuries he said he sustained from the encounter with the police. The Metropolitan police said: “The man was assessed by paramedics at the scene and did not require medical treatment.”
The man said: “After all the violence towards me I was finally able to give my name. They checked it out and came back and told me I’m not the person they’re looking for.” However, he said he was then arrested and held for 23 hours, before being released under investigation.
The Metropolitan police confirmed that officers arrested him, but released him after establishing that he was not wanted in connection for the original offence.
The Metropolitan police has faced a lot of backlash and criticism in recent news due to allegations of police brutality, racism, and violence against women. However the Metropolitan police has been trying to win back trust. In 2020 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced that 40 per cent of recruits for the Metropolitan police must be from BAME backgrounds by 2022, according to the Guardian.
