‘Excessive force of riot officers still needs to be tackled’

A review into complaints against the Met’s Territorial Support Group (TSG) was launched in the wake of high-profile cases such as the allegations made against Pc Simon Harwood following the death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests.

While the number of complaints has fallen from “unacceptably high” levels in 2009, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said, there are still a high proportion arising from unplanned stop and searches and instances of unlawful arrests.

There are 793 TSG officers working in London, tasked with dealing with public disorder outbursts, protecting against terrorism and cutting high-concern crime such as knife attacks.

A prevailing culture of aggressive and violent behaviour, particularly towards young black men, has featured heavily in allegations made against TSG officers, the IPCC said.

The IPCC, which looked at complaints and conduct cases involving TSG officers between 2008 and 2012, said allegations against TSG officers frequently fall in the “oppressive conduct” category.

The specially-trained officers, who work in demanding policing environments and high-crime areas, have more complaints made against them than their borough support unit (BSU) colleagues carrying out a similar role.

Four independent investigations arose from policing of the G20 protest in April 2009, the Commission said.

In the first case, Pc Harwood, a TSG officer, was charged and acquitted following a four-week trial for the manslaughter of Mr Tomlinson. He was subsequently dismissed without notice, following a misconduct hearing. Pc Harwood hit Mr Tomlinson with a baton and shoved him to the ground on the fringes of the protests.

In other examples, a 29-year-old TSG officer was prosecuted for assault after pushing a 16-year-old through a shop window in the High Street in Bromley, south east London, in February 2010 when he approached to stop and search him. The officer resigned and was sentenced to 150 hours’ unpaid work.

However, the number of complaints fell “substantially” in the final 36 months of the period, with the number of complaints against TSG officers at the 2009 G20 demonstrations higher than those at the student and Trades Union Congress protests in 2010/2011.

Within complaints made against TSG officers, 28 were referred to the IPCC for investigation, of which six were referred back to the Met Police and one was withdrawn. Twenty-three of the 28 cases reviewed were stop and search encounters, of which only four resulted in items being seized.