A 13-year-old boy was confronted by armed police officers in Hackney, east London, who misinterpreted his water pistol for a real firearm. According to the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA), the juvenile became the object of an aggressive manhunt in July, during which a police van knocked him off his bike and officers handcuffed the child.
The boy, who the APA refer to as ‘Child X’, had been innocently merrymaking in a water-gun fight with his sibling at the time. The mistaken firearm incident was reported by a patrolling officer who noticed the water pistols – one blue and white and the other pink and white.
Consequently, armed units from both the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police were promptly deployed to the location. Child X was arrested under the suspicion of possessing a firearm, resulting in a chilling scene that the APA described as ‘appalling’.
Child X’s mother, who arrived at the scene shortly after, was allegedly treated discourteously by the officers. Nevertheless, the boy was swiftly de-arrested at the scene itself.
Depicting the incident as ‘extremely distressing’, the Met’s Det Ch Supt James Conway expressed his apologies for the trauma inflicted on the boy. Mr. Conway emphasized that, according to police doctrine, all firearms must be treated as loaded until proven otherwise. However, this protocol did nothing to lessen the force’s responsibility towards the boy and his family.
Despite the disturbing circumstances, an internal investigation conducted by the Met Police concluded that no misconduct had occurred on behalf of the officers involved. The Police are still looking into a separate complaint accusing them of racial bias in relation to the incident.
While the Met was granted permission to take charge of both investigations by The Independent Office for Police Conduct, the family, who have reviewed the body-camera footage and met with Mr. Conway, are expected to release a statement about the incident later this week.
In a response to the incident, a representative from the City of London Police stated that their deployment at the scene was in accordance with a common practice of supporting the Met Police.
