A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked for punching a handcuffed 15-year-old boy while he was on the floor.
Police constable Steven Martin has been dismissed without notice for gross misconduct following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the force he used against an arrested child in 2021.
Following a hearing which concluded on Thursday, the disciplinary panel found Martin acted with “unnecessary and unreasonable force” against the boy and used “abusive language” towards him.
PC Martin has now paid a high price for his actions by losing his job— Sal Naseem, IOPC
The youngster had been arrested along with two other male teenagers on February 28 last year, after officers responded to a report of an attempted robbery in Waltham Forest, north-west London.
All three were charged but the case was later discontinued.
The mother of the boy attacked by Martin complained to the Met, who referred this to the IOPC.
The IOPC launched an investigation in April 2021, which involved interviewing Martin under criminal caution, reviewing his body-worn video and obtaining statements from police witnesses and the victim.
When Martin first gave an account of the incident, he failed to mention that he had hit the boy, and when this was shown on his body-worn footage, described it as an accident, the panel said.
The IOPC also found Martin breached the professional standards for “respect and courtesy” and “honesty and integrity”.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said the boy had not been resisting arrest when Martin hit him, and the disgraced constable had “paid a high price for his actions” as he is now barred from any future employment in the police.
Mr Naseem said: “Police officers may only use force when it is necessary, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances.
“Following our independent investigation, we found a case to answer on the basis that the force used appeared to exceed what was required in the circumstances as the boy had given himself up and was not resisting.
“PC Martin has now paid a high price for his actions by losing his job and will be placed on a barred list preventing him from future employment within the police service.”
Martin also previously pleaded guilty to common assault over the incident, during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 11 this year.
He was sentenced to a curfew order for 14 weeks, and ordered to pay legal costs and a victim surcharge.
