THE IOPC SERIES
MARK GATLAND’S STORY
An officer shares his ordeal with the IOPC, which ended his career with the service
the fracas with on-duty officers, forcing Gatland to taser him twice. The individual was subsequently arrested and later acquitted in the magistrates’ court. Seventeen days after the incident, an online complaint was filed against Gatland and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) launched an investigation to enquire about a number of matters, which included the use of force, the use of taser, and whether the actions of the police were motivated by racial prejudice. Recalling his ordeal, Gatland, who has since quit the police service and works as a train driver, said: “When the complaint came through, my mum could not believe it as my father was a fireman. But I was convinced the process would protect me as I had done nothing wrong. I had not done anything different from what any other police officer would have done. I had used minimum force, nobody was hurt. That is what all police officers want in such a situation. But my force threw me under the bus.
Since the October 2022 issue, POLICE magazine has been sharing some of the previously untold stories of police officers who withstood the onslaught of time and systemic injustice of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to continue to do what they do best – protect and serve the public. This is the final article of the series but, sadly, may not be the last. At approximately 2:40am on 4 September 2011, not long after the London riots in the summer, former PC Mark Gatland was among a substantial number of police officers called to attend to an incident in North London that had degenerated into rioting and bottle-throwing. During the course of the incident, officers were assaulted and had missiles thrown at them. Between 3am and 3:30am, a member of the public (later identified as a fireman), drove through a police cordon and became involved in
12 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2023
“I was seconded as a delegation security officer during the 2012 Olympics while the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) carried on the investigation against me. The DPS interviewed me while I was on Olympics duty, but I never gave it a second thought as I had so much trust in the process. After all, I wasn’t the first officer to face such an investigation.”
for consideration of criminal prosecution against Gatland.
Gatland’s life changed forever after the IOPC’s move: “That is when it got leaked in the press and they came after me. But as usual, my force did not say anything. One day, I reported for duty and was told my firearm authorisation had been withdrawn. I was assigned to a desk job, which was not meaningful, as I had not signed up to do that sort of work. I started having anxiety and palpitations, and that is when I decided I needed another job. If my force was not going to protect me, then I couldn’t be on the job. “I found another job, but my force
actively tried to see that I failed to get into it. They suspended me after I resigned to stop my resignation. I had trusted the organisation so much, so it was heartbreaking to be treated in this manner after 13 years. I had to do it for the sake of my family, I had to leave the toxic environment. I was going cold turkey,” he said.
“I had trusted the organisation so much, so it was heartbreaking to be treated in this manner after 13 years”
After a far-reaching investigation, in March 2013, the DPS concluded that there was no evidence of serious misconduct against Gatland. However, the IOPC (then known as the Independent Police Complaints Commission) refuted the DPS findings and escalated the case against Gatland into an independent investigation. The IOPC appointed its own investigator – in November 2014, it referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
The only support Gatland got outside his family was from the Police Federation of England and Wales. He recalled: “I was never worried about the legal charges as my Fed rep had, from the beginning, put me in touch with very competent lawyers. Of course, I couldn’t have afforded a legal team, but that’s why we pay the subs. If I hadn’t had my family’s and the Fed’s support, suicide was a very real option for me, as I would have lost my house and savings, and I would not be left with anything.” On 7 February 2022,
the IOPC resolved Gatland’s case via mediation and a settlement was reached whereby the IOPC agreed to pay monetary compensation and tender a letter of apology. “I am told the apology is still a work in progress. Was there ever going to be a sincere apology? Do they care? If they cared, they would change the way they treat police officers. But they haven’t, so I don’t think they care,” Gatland observed.
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