Two Met officers have been informed they will face a gross misconduct hearing following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into the death of Kevin Clarke in Lewisham in 2018.
Enquiries by the IOPC concluded that the officers should be subject to misconduct proceedings due to alleged inaccuracies in evidence, and in respect of alleged failings regarding their duty of care to him on the day he died.
The Met agreed with the recommendations and will make arrangements to hold the hearing as soon as possible.
The officers – attached to the Central West and South East command units – will face allegations that they breached the standards of Professional Behaviour with regard to Duties and Responsibilities and Honesty and Integrity.
Following this development both officers have been placed on restricted duties.
The IOPC determined that the officers would not be subject to any criminal investigation.
A third officer, attached to the South East Basic Command Unit, will face a gross incompetence hearing into alleged failures in supervision on the day Mr Clarke died.
And an officer now attached to Met Operations will undergo a Reflective Practice Review Process.
The IOPC found that the remaining five officers have no case to answer.
The nine officers involved were attached to the South East Basic Command Unit at the time of the incident.
The IOPC has updated Mr Clarke’s family on this development.
Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry, local policing commander for south-east London, said: “Throughout this process our thoughts and sympathies have been with Mr Clarke’s family. Following the conclusion of the inquest we acknowledged our failings as a police service and apologised to Mr Clark’s family. I want to reiterate that apology today.
“I know this update will have a significant impact not only on the family but also the wider community, and want to offer my reassurance that we will look to bring these matters to a conclusion as soon as possible.
“It’s important we don’t pre-judge the outcome of proceedings in any way, but our communities rightly expect police officers to be subject to thorough scrutiny for the actions they take.
“We continually review our policies in line with national guidance around restraint as well as how we assist those in mental health crisis and are working with colleagues nationally to consider our training and guidance to officers in dealing with these kinds of fast paced and challenging incidents.”
