The actions of armed police who arrested a 13-year-old boy after his water pistol was mistaken for a gun were reasonable in the circumstances, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation has found.
Complaints from the child’s mother after the incident in Hackney, east London, on July 19, 2023 alleged her son, who is black, had been the subject of adultification and discrimination by the officers.
IOPC regional director Charmaine Arbouin said: “Police officers have a duty to protect the public from harm and the evidence from our investigation supported the first officer’s belief that he thought he may have seen a real firearm.
“The decision to send armed officers to the scene following the report of a firearm was in line with guidance, and based on the evidence we obtained we found no indication that any officers behaved in a manner that would justify bringing disciplinary proceedings.”
An investigation into an incident where @metpoliceuk officers arrested a child who'd been playing with a watergun found police's actions were reasonable in the circumstances, after an officer reported seeing what appeared to be a firearm
See more (+pics)▶️https://t.co/OK7GDVAD5o pic.twitter.com/2LstEjOwiU
— Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) (@policeconduct) December 13, 2024
At around 3.45pm that day, a Met officer reported they had seen a male on a bicycle pull out what appeared to be a handgun and point it at a female on Buxted Road, before they both cycled off.
He described the firearm as “blue and white” and “shaped like a Glock” and the male’s age as approximately 16.
The matter was declared a firearms incident by a tactical firearms commander and armed officers from both the Met and the City of London Police were sent to the area to locate the child.
Shortly before 4pm, armed response officers saw the child alone on Buxted Road cycling towards them and used their vehicle to make tactical contact with his bicycle at low speed, which knocked the child into a wall.
He was surrounded by armed officers with their weapons drawn and was arrested and handcuffed on the ground.
An officer asked the child where the gun was and he said it was a water gun and “it’s at home”. At the same time a member of the public can be heard repeatedly telling the officers that the child had a water gun.
The child was searched and no item was found.
The child’s mother spoke to the officers at the scene and confirmed her son had been playing with a water pistol.
The boy was de-arrested, his handcuffs were removed and officers left the scene.
He went to hospital and was treated for bruising and swelling due to the collision with the police vehicle.
Ms Arbouin said: “We know that this incident was distressing to the child involved and his family.
“Being arrested, handcuffed and searched by armed officers would have been a frightening experience for anyone, let alone a 13-year-old.
“We note the Met Police has apologised to the boy’s family for the distress caused.”
The decision provoked outrage from the the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA) campaign who said it highlights the “the ongoing failure of oversight bodies to address systemic racial bias and disproportionate policing of black communities” and that ” extensive research shows that Black children are disproportionately targeted, treated as adults, and subjected to excessive force.”
It noted that “a 13-year-old Black boy, known as Child X, was rammed off his bicycle by a police vehicle, surrounded by armed officers, handcuffed, and left traumatised—all for playing with a brightly coloured plastic water pistol with his younger sister in Hackney, east London.”
APA chairman Lee Jasper said: “This case exemplifies the failure of both the Metropolitan Police and the IOPC to protect black children and hold officers accountable for the harm they cause.
“A 13-year-old black boy playing with a water pistol was treated as an armed criminal, brutalised, and left traumatised.
“The trauma inflicted on Child X and his family is part of a broader, systemic problem of institutional racism and adultification in policing.”
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “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.
“Nonetheless, this incident was understandably extremely distressing for the boy involved as well as his family, and we remain sorry for the impact upon them.”
