Errol Dixon: Pensioner punched by police now battling cancer as he seeks justice

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A pensioner whose a face was "smashed to pieces" after being stopped by police for a broken brake light says he is now fighting cancer.

Errol Dixon was pulled over and left with facial fractures after an encounter with an officer in Bromley in 2021.

Initially the police watchdog said there was no case to answer, arguing the officer was acting in self defence.

But the High Court quashed the original decision forcing the IOPC to re-open their investigation.

"It's been very hard - at first when the IOPC said police had nothing to answer for that was disappointing. It has been very hard. And I have other conditions to deal with. It’s been hard," Errol told ITV News London.

Mr Dixon’s son previously said his father’s face was "smashed to pieces".

Errol Dixon has a history of cancer within his family and is fighting the disease himself but is determined to seek justice.

Errol added: "I’ve been diagnosed with cancer. A lot of my family died from cancer. And I have other conditions. I don’t know if I have a future. I’m going through treatment. I just have to wait and see. "But I’m going to see justice done some way or another, but cancer can take you at any time."

Errol, a Windrush generation immigrant from Jamaica, said he was dragged to the floor and punched several times before being handcuffed by police in 2021.

At the time the IOPC claimed the officer was struck first.

Mr Dixon said the whole experience had been draining and he had done nothing wrong, he added: "Mentally it is driving me mad. What’s happened that day with the police - physically it was very draining. It was not easy. "I did nothing wrong and it looked like they were going to get away with what they did to me.

Two years on from the attack Mr Dixon said it was still important to pursue the case against police because he felt black people were still being treated badly.

"I think a lot of black people who have grown up in this country have always had a problem with police.

"I thought getting older that things might have changed but it hasn’t from the 1960s or 1970s. We are still being profiled. It’s like there is a war going between black people and police.

"Some things don’t change - for me it seems like it’s getting worse. "I am a grandfather and pensioner. If police think a person has committed a crime, charge them by all means.

"But I would have thought they would have talked to me decently and shown some understanding. "I was not expecting to be beaten up by police. Even if they were going to charge me with something.

"I wasn’t expecting to be beaten up by police at my age. I did nothing wrong to get beat up. I’ve not been charged with anything."

An IOPC spokesperson said: "We acknowledge and apologise that we applied the wrong legal test in Mr Dixon’s case. We have agreed to appoint a new decision maker to apply the correct test and make a fresh decision about whether or not the officer who struck Mr Dixon should now face disciplinary proceedings."

A spokesperson for the Met added: "Our officers understand their actions will be scrutinised and use of force must be proportionate and reasonable.

"We recognise the impact that incidents like this have on community confidence, which is why independent scrutiny, to establish what happened and to identify any opportunity to do things differently, is so important.

"We are aware of the outcome of the judicial review and await the IOPC’s new decision."

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