The Mayor of Bristol and his deputy have questioned a police decision not to take any further action against a woman who allegedly struck a 12-year-old boy on the forehead with a paddle, and said 'we appear to have a bad decision'.
Marvin Rees and Asher Craig issued a statement about the case, which was first revealed by Bristol Live last week, involving an altercation between a group of youngsters and a woman at the Conham River Park back in late March. Antwon Forrest suffered a horrendous cut to his forehead and video footage shared on social media showed a woman remonstrating with a group of his friends as the 12-year-old walked around dazed and bloodied.
Police arrested, and then de-arrested a woman at the scene. Initially, Antwon's family was told there was a lack of evidence to take any further action against the woman, and any investigation was dropped.
Read more: Family's anger after boy, 12, 'attacked with paddle by woman'
Since then, Antwon's family have mounted a campaign to raise awareness of what happened, a petition has been gathering momentum and late last week, Avon and Somerset police announced it would be conducting a review into what happened and reopening the case.
Now, with Bristol Live's story gaining national attention this week, Marvin Rees and deputy Asher Craig have issued a joint statement questioning the police's actions and setting out their concerns about the incident and its aftermath.
They said that the review's findings should not be 'detached from their historical, political context'. Antwon was the 'only black boy' in a group of youths throwing mudballs at the water. But the woman only spoke to, and reportedly hit, Antwon.
Police have now re-classified this incident as being racially motivated.
"The supervising officer made the decision that the evidence he had obtained would not lead to a realistic prospect of conviction," the mayor and Cllr Craig said. "He decided that no further action would be taken against the suspect. Film surrounding the incident has appeared on social media. In the days since the incident, the constabulary have set up a strategic coordination group under the leadership of a senior officer and launched a review that will be led by a Detective Sergeant, with oversight from a senior officer. They will examine the handling of the initial investigation and the decision not to take any further action," he added.
Mr Rees and Cllr Craig said they have spoken to Chief Constable Sarah Crew and Chief Supt Peter Warren about the case. "We shared with them our concern for the victim’s welfare, the decision and the way it was made," they said. "We remain open to the possibility that there is information we are yet to be made aware of. But, as it stands, we appear to have a bad decision - we are yet to be made aware of any information that would explain the decision to a reasonable level of satisfaction.
"We have been clear that all required resource must be invested in the review of this decision and what comes next. We must have a full understanding of what happened to this young man, why and justice (whatever that is in this instance) must be done. We have also been clear that if the review shows that if there was a failure, we/the police must understand whether this was an isolated incident, part of a pattern of behaviour of either an individual or a team, and whether it is evidence of as yet unresolved systemic failures.
"It is also important that any findings are not detached from their historical, political context. This will be critical to understanding the direction of travel our police service are on and the pace of change. These findings must be shared with us and the community," they added.
Ty Forrest, Antwon's father, told Bristol Live of the impact the incident has had on his son, who had been playing by the water at Conham River Park in Brislington on March 26 with friends. He also told of the disappointment he and his family felt upon receiving a letter from the police on April 14 telling him that no further action would be taken against the woman.
He said: "It's a kick in the teeth that nothing has happened. I knew she wasn't going to jail or anything like that but I thought that it might have at least gone on her record or she'd be given a fine.
"If the police could have got some sort of resolution to it, it would have been better, but this is disappointing. I don't want my son to live the rest of his life believing that there are no consequences to things like this.
"We have been getting a lot of support from people since it happened back in March and Antwon's lived with it. We keep reassuring him but he's scared and upset and we're upset that nothing's been done."
Antwon's aunt, Antonia, shared photos on her Instagram profile of her nephew's injuries as well as a video of the woman confronting his friends after hitting him with the paddle. Alongside the images, which showed the 12-year-old's face bloodied, she accused the woman of singling out her nephew because of the way he looked and the colour of his skin, and wrote: "On the 26th of March I was devastated to receive this picture of my nephew.
"He and his friends had been playing at a lake in Bristol when this lady accused and attacked my nephew with the paddle of her boat for throwing stones which he didn’t even throw!! However, because he was the ONLY black boy there and he’s very tall for a 12 year old she thought it would be okay to attack him!" she added.
The Mayor and Cllr Craig shared the police's renewed appeal for witnesses to the incident, which happened on March 26. "A number of people were in that area of the riverside that afternoon. If you witnessed the original incident, or have phone or other footage which could help, please call 101 and give the reference 5222071897," they said.
Last week, after Antonia's social media post was widely shared and Bristol Live challenged Avon and Somerset police over the case, the police said they were reviewing what happened.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We’re re-appealing for witnesses as part of our ongoing review into an alleged assault on a 12-year-old child on a Bristol riverside. Officers were called to a report that a woman had struck a child near Conham River Park at about 3pm on Saturday 26 March.
"An initial investigation was carried out, which included statements being taken from the child and an adult family friend and a woman being arrested, and later de-arrested, before being interviewed at a police station. The initial outcome was that no further action would be taken, based on evidence gathered at the time.
"A review was immediately launched after senior officers became aware of the decision to close this case with no further action being taken, following public concern. Bristol commander Superintendent Mark Runacres, along with Chief Inspector Mike Buck and a community leader, met with the injured boy’s father yesterday to explain what actions had been taken so far and to give him further details about what the review will look like."
Ch Insp Mike Buck said: “We’re extremely grateful to the boy’s father for agreeing to meet with us and we had a constructive conversation in which we answered his questions and give him assurances about this review and what it means. We have complete empathy with his family and listened carefully to what he had to say. We gave him a full commitment to carrying out a comprehensive and thorough review and to keep him updated about its progress.
“We’ve re-classified this incident as being racially motivated and we have a Detective Sergeant leading the review, with oversight from a senior officer. The review will include identifying and taking statements from as many people who witnessed this incident as possible, locating and viewing all available footage, re-examining 999 calls made to the emergency services, compiling medical evidence and liaising with relevant partner agencies.
“There will be learnings coming out of this incident, for example we’ve already identified the family should have been offered a right to review following the initial decision not to take any further action, and we have said sorry for that.
“It’s only right and proper we are scrutinised on the decisions we take and I want to reassure our communities that we are listening and we are taking action to re-examine all aspects of this incident, as well as how the initial investigation was carried out.
“We will learn from this and the decisions we take will be subject to even further scrutiny so our communities can have full confidence in the outcome.”
Police are re-appealing for further witnesses to come forward as they know a number of people were in that area of the riverside that afternoon. Police are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the original incident, or who may have phone or other footage which could help. Call 101 and give the reference 5222071897.
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