Met Police officers sacked for punching and kicking boy, 14, and lying about it

Two Met Police officers have been dismissed for punching and kicking a 14-year-old boy during his arrest before lying about what happened in official statements.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct heard police constables Alexei Zalesskiy and Conor Ryan were accused of using excessive force on the child.

The boy was part of a group of young people gathered in Finsbury Park in April 2021. Police were called following reports of fighting where a knife had been seen.

No knife was found and while trying to break the group up one boy became agitated after being pushed by police.

He started shouting and spat in an officer’s face. He then ran from police who chased him on foot to arrest him for assaulting an officer. The boy was put in handcuffs and arrested but was not charged and no further action was taken. The investigation found PC Zalesskiy punched him at least once and PC Ryan kicked him in the neck and struck him in the thigh with his knee. Evidence gathered by investigators included police body worn video and CCTV which showed the officers punching and kicking the boy. The IOPC also found evidence they lied on their statements immediately following the incident, dishonestly claiming they believed the boy was going to spit at PC Zalesskiy for a second time, justifying their actions. Our investigation began following a voluntary referral in April 2021 from the MPS about the officers’ conduct. It took five months to complete and we concluded that there was a case to answer for gross misconduct against both officers and an indication they may have committed assault by beating, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: "The force used on this child was neither reasonable nor proportionate in the circumstances. "The public must have confidence that when officers are required to use force to detain and arrest members of the public, they will only use the minimum amount of force necessary. "To compound matters, they then tried to justify their actions by lying on their initial statements following the incident. Their dismissals send a strong message that there will be serious consequences for police officers who use gratuitous violence and are dishonest about their actions. "Both officers will also be added to the police barred list, preventing them from future employment with any police service."

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