I make no apologies for the fact that there are certain scenarios which I return to frequently in this blog, such as this week’s subject, which concerns the unlawful stop and search of a young black man – because the frequency with which the Police commit such abuses needs to be highlighted. (When the Police stop misusing their stop and search powers, then I will stop blogging about it.)
My client, Emmanuel, is of black ethnicity and was at the time of the incident 17 years old.
One afternoon in August 2021, Emmanuel was walking along a residential road in London. As he was walking, he was approached by a group of men – dressed in plain clothes – who demanded to know where Emmanuel was going and why he was wearing a jacket on a ‘warm day’.
Emmanuel attempted to step around the men; only then did they inform him that they were Metropolitan Police officers. In contravention of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), none of the officers identified themselves or their Police station, however my client later learnt in response to his complaint that the officer who led the search was PC Pinkerton.
Emmanuel asked why he was being singled out, as there were many other people nearby wearing jackets/ coats; the officers declined to directly answer Emmanuel’s question but asserted that there had been “a lot of people carrying weapons.” The officers then demanded Emmanuel’s personal details, however as he had not been given a clear reason for why he had been individually stopped, my client declined their request.
PC Pinkerton then took hold of Emmanuel and placed him into handcuffs in the “rear stack” position. The officers then searched Emmanuel and during the course of the search, an officer took Emmanuel’s Oyster card from his pocket and checked his name on the Police National Computer system. On finding no PNC entries for my client, the officer commented that this was Emmanuel’s “first stop” – the apparent implication being that because of his skin colour it would not be the last…. How depressing it is that because of institutional Police racism “your first stop and search” has become an unwanted and unwarranted “rite of passage” for young black men.
The search was negative, and Emmanuel was released. Emmanuel, whom I stress was aged only 17 at the time and was therefore legally a child, was left highly distressed by the incident. Physically, he was now free to go, but mentally, an unjustified stop and search is not quite as easy for the victim to walk away from, as it is for the Police Officers. I will present here Emmanuel’s own eloquent testimony about how this event affected him-
“I felt embarrassed, upset and frightened. People were looking at me shaking their heads as if I had done something wrong. I felt vulnerable in handcuffs, surrounded by plain clothes Police Officers. I could not understand why this was happening. I felt violated and abused. I felt I had no rights.”
Later the same day my client and his mother submitted a formal complaint to the Met. Emmanuel is of entirely good character, had no previous experience of being stopped and searched or being subject to force by police officers. Due to the circumstances of the incident, he strongly believed that the stop and search and use of force were racially motivated by reason of his ethnicity. Emmanuel’s mother made it clear in the complaint that she was concerned about the mental health impact of this incident upon her son. As she wrote to the Police-
“Putting handcuffs on people may be routine for Police Officers, but it’s not for the individual who has done nothing wrong.”
During the course of the subsequent investigation into Emmanuel’s complaint, it was discovered that no record of the search had been created nor had PC Pinkerton completed a use of force form for handcuffing my client. Only some three months later, in October 2021, did PC Pinkerton create a stop and search record for this incident, which stated:
“Male was seen wearing large puffa style jacket on a hot day. The area is a known hotspot for gang related crime such as drug dealing and carriage of weapons. Male was seen walking with purpose and was aware of their surroundings which I believed was indicators of stress as they appeared nervous. On approach from police male has appeared to attempt to evade police by attempting to walk around officers. Male appeared to self-search towards coat when detained so handcuffs were used to facilitate search. Male would not account for behaviour and presence within area during stop. Male searched for weapons with negative result.”
Furthermore, the Metropolitan Police admitted that that whilst there had been Body Worn Video footage of the incident, and my client had made his complaint less than 24 hours afterwards, the footage had not been preserved. Of course, a crucial factor in the loss of the footage was no doubt the fact that Emmanuel was unable to give any of the officer’s identities when he lodged his complaint – precisely because the officers had ridden roughshod over the clear and very well understood PACE requirement that every stop and search subject is entitled to this information.
The Police failings on the day of the incident were thus compounded as Emmanuel’s complaint dragged on and on without clear resolution and opportunities to preserve the video evidence were lost. As my client later told the complaint investigator-
“Because of my race they [the Officers] assumed I was suspicious…and that was enough for them to illegally stop and search me. It was unjustified and there were no reasonable grounds to do so. I believe because of my race and being a teenager they felt it not necessary to follow PACE. I was not told under what section I was being stopped and searched, the officers did not give me their names or ID numbers or provide me with a copy of the stop and search record.”
I am pleased to confirm that I have recently concluded Emmanuel’s claim against the Metropolitan Police for a settlement of substantial damages and costs. But huge concerns remain about Policing culture and practice; and particularly the endemic disrespect which so many Officers show for the laws which are supposed to govern their conduct and ensure that they treat people fairly and are accountable to the public. Here a gang of officers misused their powers against a child and then apparently sought to avoid scrutiny by breaching their legal obligations to identify themselves and to create a written record of their actions; the Metropolitan Police’s lackadaisical response to my client’s complaint indicates that Police hierarchies continue to tolerate such law-breaking and raises the question – can the Police be trusted to police our streets, when they can’t properly police themselves?
Names have been changed.
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