Metropolitan Police officer sacked for punching handcuffed boy who was not resisting arrest

A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked for punching a boy while he was handcuffed on the floor.

A disciplinary hearing found Pc Steven Martin used "unnecessary and unreasonable force" and "abusive language" on the 15-year-old in 2021.

He was dismissed without notice for gross misconduct at the hearing on Thursday.

It followed a police watchdog investigation into the force he used against an arrested child.

The probe found he had breached professional standards for “respect and courtesy” and “honesty and integrity”.

The youngster's mother complained to the Met after the boy was attacked by Martin and the force referred this to the Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The boy had been arrested along with two other male teenagers on 28 February last year, after officers responded to a report of an attempted robbery in Waltham Forest, north-east London.

All three were charged but the case was later discontinued.

When Martin was confronted with body-worn video footage of him hitting the child he told the IOPC it was an "accident", the panel said.

The watchdog said the boy had not been resisting arrest when Martin hit him.

IOPC regional director Sal Naseem Martin said the disgraced constable had “paid a high price for his actions” and is barred from any future employment in the police.

"Police officers may only use force when it is necessary, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances," Mr Naseem said.

Martin also previously pleaded guilty to common assault over the incident, during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 11 this year.

He was sentenced to a curfew order for 14 weeks, and ordered to pay legal costs and a victim surcharge.

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