A Hackney mother has furiously accused the Met Police of racism after officers reportedly rammed her son off his scooter and held him at gunpoint for playing with a bright blue water pistol.
A statement from the 13-year-old boy’s mum was read aloud at a press conference on Thursday morning (October 19) about the incident, which occurred in July in Stoke Newington.
The family is remaining anonymous.
“I feel very angry,” wrote the mother. “It has been a deeply traumatic experience for him, for me and for our family as a whole.
“I feel broken by it all; distraught because I was not able to protect my child from what happened.”
She said children should be “free to play on our streets in Hackney” without being subjected to such treatment by police.
The press conference, at the IDPAD Centre in Lower Clapton Road, heard how the boy and his much younger sister were playing with bright blue and pink water pistols.
But a police officer reportedly told colleagues he had seen “a black male with a gun”.
A police van allegedly arrived and deliberately knocked the boy off of his bike or scooter, before armed police surrounded him and slapped cuffs on him.
He was later released without charge, but his solicitor said he suffered injuries. The boy is also said to have suffered “continuous” nightmares ever since.
“The attitude of the police to him – and to me – is shown up in the words of the senior officer at the scene when I protested to him about the conduct of his officers,” wrote his mother.
“He told me I was lucky that they had not arrested my son. For what? For playing with a brightly coloured water gun with his younger sibling on the streets behind our home? For being a Black boy on the streets of Hackney?
“I know – and the police know – that they would not have treated my son in the way they did if he had been a White 13-year-old boy.
“I am still in shock about it all and so is my son, as well as his siblings.
“How do I explain to them what happened? How do I help them cope with the fact that the police present at the scene seemed unable or unwilling to apologise, explain or answer for what they had done?
“And after what has happened, how can I ever tell them that they can turn to the police for help?
“How can I be expected to place my faith in the police to investigate themselves when they have treated my son and me with contempt?
“I feel let down and betrayed, not only by the police but also by the IOPC and the whole system that is supposed to look after our children, Black or White. They deserve better.”
In a statement, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, borough commander for Hackney, said the force had apologised to the family, but defended the actions of his officers.
He said police were required to treat all reported firearms as real until proven otherwise.
“I am sorry for the trauma caused to the child and I am happy to meet with the family again if they feel that would help,” he said.
He did not comment on allegations of racism.
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