NEWS
USE-OF-FORCE RULING LEAVES OFFICERS EXPOSED A
Court of Appeal ruling has left police officers ‘dangerously exposed’ in cases involving use of
force, the Police Federation of England and Wales is warning. In October, the court found in favour of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in the case of ‘W80’, a firearms officer being investigated over the fatal shooting of Jermaine Baker in Wood Green in December 2015. They directed a gross misconduct hearing and under this new ruling, the panel would be entitled to consider whether the officer’s honestly held belief that force was necessary was an objectively reasonable one in all the circumstances.
The ruling has far reaching
ramifications for any officer involved in a use-of-force case, as John Partington, our Deputy National Secretary explains. “This effectively means that a breach of the standards could arise when an officer uses force because they honestly believe it is necessary and that turns out to be mistaken.
“So, for the purposes of misconduct proceedings, their use of force will be judged by whether a right-thinking person with knowledge of the facts available to the officer would consider it a necessary use of force. This is a subtle but very important deviation to how police officers have been trained.” The case has been appealed to the Supreme Court, but that hearing may be a year away. In the meantime, officers of all ranks are in a “sort of limbo” according
to Steve Hartshorn, PFEW’s National Firearms Lead.
He said: “Officers are trained in the current criminal law application in terms of how they justify force. This added situation may give them rise to pause and think ‘is what I’m doing objectively reasonable when compared to what I’m actually trained in?’ The key thing is that officers have not been trained for this situation. So, we’re calling on the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing to issue advice and guidance to officers. “We want to win the case at the Supreme Court but if that doesn’t happen, we need to realise that the
Appeal Court’s ruling will apply. Right now, we’ve got officers potentially falling foul of misconduct regulations, so the NPCC and the College need to act.” We believe the ruling impacts on
every serving officer in the country, from chief officer to PC, that may have to use force (or authorise force). The advice to our members is if you become involved in a Post Incident Procedure or have a concern, it is more important than ever that you seek Federation advice and legal support and be aware that this new standard could be used against you. In addition to calling for updated
training the Federation is raising this important issue at the highest levels.
John Partington Steve Hartshorn
Nick O’Time By Colin Whittock
APRIL 2021 | POLICE | 09
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