Police officer to face misconduct hearing but no criminal charges after being filmed repeatedly striking man with baton
PC Croft will face a misconduct hearing but no criminal charges for his behaviour during an arrest at St Pancras station - Credit: Archant
A police officer will not face criminal charges after being filmed repeatedly striking a man with his baton during an arrest even though the police watchdog found he has a case to answer.
British Transport Police (BTP) officer, PC Croft, will appear before the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to answer allegations that he used excessive force, that the arrest was unnecessary and that both may have been racially motivated.
PC Croft was filmed by a member of public striking Anthony Yeboah repeatedly on the legs with a baton during the incident at St Pancras on March 8 after he was stopped on suspicion of fare evasion.
The footage was widely shared on social media and following complaints, the IPCC conducted an independent investigation, which found PC Croft has a case to answer for use of force, duties and responsibilities and equality and diversity.
BTP has accepted the findings of the report and are proceeding with a gross misconduct hearing to be held in public.
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The IPCC has also recommended that BTP amend its training policies.
The IPCC referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether PC Croft should face criminal charges in relation to the incident but it decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the officer.
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IPCC Commissioner Jennifer Izekor said: “This incident provoked considerable public interest and disquiet and the IPCC received a number of phone calls from members of the public.
“Our investigation found that PC Croft has a case to answer in respect of the allegations that the use of force against Mr Yeboah may have been excessive in the circumstances, the arrest was unnecessary to begin with and both were potentially racially motivated.
“I am pleased that BTP has accepted the findings and is proceeding with a public gross misconduct hearing. I am however concerned that our report highlighted that previous recommendations for training for PC Croft made as a result of a prior use of force had not been implemented at the time of the incident. I will seek assurances from BTP that it is taking steps to ensure that this does not signify particular weaknesses in their approach.”
