A police officer recorded on video striking a handcuffed black teenager with a baton has been placed under criminal investigation.

The incident happened in Romford, east London in April and a second officer is under investigation for a potential disciplinary offence over whether police had the grounds to carry out the stop and search in the first place.

The Guardian has also learned that four officers are under disciplinary investigation over the use of stop and search in a separate incident in October 2018 in north-west London. That incident, also caught on video, involved a man being sprayed with CS while on the ground. He was later found innocent of the reason for his stop.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating both incidents. It stresses that the serving of a notice of investigation does not mean that misconduct or criminal charges are inevitable.

The police watchdog was also to start another investigation into the arrest of a man in east London over a parking incident, caught on video, during which he apparently had a seizure and was taken to hospital. On Thursday the Met said the man, aged 38, had been released under investigation, following his arrest, which led to some criticism of the police.

Play Video 0:41 Met officers filmed pinning down man apparently having a fit – video

Police use of force is often controversial and the spread of video cameras on mobile phones has led to more incidents being recorded and posted on social media.

Police insist they use force rarely and only when necessary.

In the incident in Romford in April, the video showed a boy of 17 being struck by an officer with a metal baton several times around the legs.

A second teenager was later arrested.

In a statement, the IOPC said: “Our independent investigation into the arrest of two teenagers in Romford on Easter Monday [22 April] is making good progress and we met with the boys’ family this week to update them.

“Several independent witnesses to the interaction between two police officers and the boys have been interviewed.

“Two officers have been served with notices informing them they are being investigated. One officer has been served with a criminal notice in relation to their use of force while the other has been served a notice of gross misconduct for their rationale to initiate the stop and search.”

The IOPC said a member of the public who witnessed the incident complained that the use of the baton was excessive, and the watchdog said that it recognised the video – which captured only part of the incident – generated significant concern.

The Met at the time said it had stopped and searched two teenage boys on Easter Monday under the Misuse of Drugs Act. It said a 17-year-old boy was found in possession of class B drugs, and arrested for possession with intent to supply and obstruction of a drugs search.

In the Brent incident from October 2018, police thought a 23-year-old man matched the description of a suspect in a stabbing.

He was later found to be innocent of that, but was arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis, obstructing a drugs search and two counts of assaulting police.

The IOPC said the stop and search happened outside the New Atlas cafe in Brent, north-west London, on Thursday 4 October at about 3pm.

After the man was tackled and was on the ground, one officer with CS spray can be seen firing it from a few inches away from the man’s face. The suspect then shouts: “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” Members of the public gathered round and some protested about the police’s actions.

In a statement, the IOPC said: “At this time four officers have been served with misconduct notices in relation to the lawfulness of the stop, and one of those officers has also been served with a gross misconduct notice for their use of force.”

The Met, which covers almost all of London, carried out a total of 151,102 searches in 2018, an increase of 16% in London on the previous year. It believes it is a useful tactic to fight rising violent crime.



