WIREDGOV

An IPCC investigation launched after footage emerged of an exchange between a black man and a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer after officers stopped the Bentley he was travelling in in Central London, is complete.

A short video clip of the exchange, which took place at about 12.30am on 5 January 2017, in central London, was posted online and widely shared on social media later that month.

The IPCC asked the MPS to refer the matter and launched an independent investigation.

The investigation aimed to establish why officers chose to stop the driver, whether subsequent comments made by one of the officers were appropriate, and whether the officer’s actions amounted to discrimination.

Investigators reviewed the body-worn video footage of the entire incident, obtained statements from police witnesses and served a notice on and interviewed one of the officers under misconduct caution.

Despite attempts to speak to the man who was stopped, he decided not to make a formal complaint and did not respond to approaches by IPCC investigators.

The car was stopped after being spotted changing lanes randomly without indicating, with the top down in the early hours of a winter morning. Checks also revealed that the car was registered to a dealership rather than an individual.

Body-worn footage examined by the IPCC revealed the man verbally accepted the reasons offered by the officers for the stop and did not express any wish to make a complaint.

The video clip posted online captured a conversation about “criminal profiling”. The body-worn footage showed that this was a small segment of a larger exchange, which went on for about 16 minutes, and the male and the officer appeared to have conversed in a relaxed, friendly and jovial manner throughout.

The IPCC investigation also applied tests to determine if the actions of the officer were either direct or indirect discrimination. The investigation concluded there was no evidence the officer’s comments were intentionally discriminatory or targeted, and he had no history or complaints of discriminatory behaviour in the past.

The lead investigator concluded that the comments made about “criminal profiling” could constitute misconduct, however, in the context of the entire 16 minute conversation, they did not appear to be directed at the man maliciously and the routine stop was appropriate and not motivated by discrimination.

Following the investigation the MPS confirmed that the officer had already received management action over the incident and had accepted that his language had been clumsy.

Therefore it was agreed there will be no further action regarding this matter.

Operations manager Neil Orbell said: “Footage of this exchange attracted a large amount of attention and prompted the IPCC to launch an independent investigation.

“Body worn camera footage captured the entire exchange between the police officer and his colleagues and two members of the public in the Bentley vehicle.

“The officer recorded commenting on “racial profiling” has accepted his comments were clumsy and could easily be misinterpreted and has admitted he has learned from the episode.”

A summary of the IPCC investigation report has been published online.