Yard fees protest probe inadequate

Police battle with demonstrators in Whitehall on December 9 last year after the announcement of raised tuition fees
12 April 2012

The police watchdog has ruled Scotland Yard inadequately investigated officers for using excessive force against a wheelchair-bound student fees protester, his solicitor has said.

The force also faces criticism for failing to pass on Jody McIntyre's case to the Crown Prosecution Service, added Michael Oswald of the law firm Bhatt Murphy.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission launched a probe after the Metropolitan Police's Directorate of Professional Standards found officers were justified in pulling him from his wheelchair and "inadvertently" hitting him with a baton at the student fees demonstrations in December.

The IPCC has concluded the failings of previous inquiries "allowed an officer to escape criminal sanctions", said the law firm.

Investigators found the officer accused of dragging Mr McIntyre across the ground has a disciplinary case to answer and the protester has a "legitimate grievance" in being struck with a baton, it was claimed.

Mr McIntyre, who said he is considering legal action, welcomed the IPCC findings which "confirmed my view that the investigation that was conducted by the Met was seriously deficient".

"The conclusions that have been reached by the IPCC represent a small step towards the accountability that I seek in respect of the way in which I was treated by police officers on December 9 2010," he said in a statement.

"However, there is still some considerable way to go in this regard and it is of particular concern to me that the officer who dragged me across the road has escaped criminal sanction for his actions because of the failings in the investigation that was conducted by the Met."

Mr Oswald added: "The conclusions of the IPCC have vindicated the serious concerns held by Mr McIntyre with regard to the quality of the investigation that was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service into their officers' treatment of him."

Mr McIntyre said he was the victim of unprovoked action after video footage of the incident came to light. He also said the treatment amounted to discrimination on the basis of his disability.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in