Police watchdog criticises officers over handling of excessive force complaint

A police watchdog has criticised the police for its handling of a man’s complaint that officers used excessive force against him.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) said Police Scotland failed to properly deal with the man’s complaint that he had been kicked in the shin by officers and pinned against a wall.

It said all four officers involved should be interviewed again as well as the man’s wife who was not interviewed after the original complaint.

PIRC commissioner Kate Frame said the officers attended the man’s house last year to “detain the man and his wife over an allegation of stalking”.

He resisted and tried to close the door on the police before a struggle ensued.

The chief inspector who looked into the complaint said officers denied using excessive force though they themselves did not respond directly to questions about the struggle.

The complaint is part of a report that will be put before the Scottish Police Authority at its August meeting.

It concluded that the “complaint was not dealt with to a reasonable standard.”

PIRC said two of the officers should directly address the applicant’s allegation they used excessive force when they pinned him to the wall.

They have also been encouraged to interview the man’s wife about the incident.

Two more complaints were accepted – one over an administrative error regarding a firearms certificate and a second about how police dealt with an allegation of blood in the police van.

A third, that police refused to remove their shoes when they entered the couple’s house, was rejected.