Met Police officer filmed ‘revelling in use of force’ on detainee is sacked

A Metropolitan Police officer who worked at Charing Cross police station has been sacked after he was secretly filmed “boasting about and revelling in the use of force” on a detainee.

The undercover footage, which was aired on a BBC Panorama programme, shows Pc Jason Sinclair-Birt tell a colleague he “whacked the shit out of the back of his legs” while discussing the use of force on a detainee, an accelerated misconduct hearing in south London was told on Friday.

But the officer did not use the excessive force he described, did not draw his baton, and later said he was embellishing an account of a previous incident for “comedic effect”, James Berry KC said on behalf of the appropriate authority.

Chairman Commander Jason Prins said he was satisfied the breach of conduct amounted to gross misconduct and Pc Sinclair-Birt was dismissed without notice.

Commander Prins said: “The officer has chosen to share a false account which revelled in the use of excessive force.

“In my view the false account was meant to be taken at face value.”

Three other Metropolitan Police officers who worked at Charing Cross police station were fired on Thursday after it was found their conduct aired in the BBC Panorama programme amounted to gross misconduct.

Pc Philip Neilson, Pc Martin Borg and Sergeant Joe McIlvenny were dismissed without notice in three separate hearings.

On Friday, Mr Berry said the appropriate authority’s case is that Pc Sinclair-Birt was “boasting about and revelling in the use of force, and what he was describing as an excessive use of force, on a detainee”.

The officer denied gross misconduct, the hearing was told.

The programme shows Pc Sinclair-Birt in a conversation with a colleague describing a detainee he dealt with, saying he got elbowed in the face, but “I had the last laugh” as when he was standing up in the van wearing leg restraints “just started beating the shit out of the back of his legs”, Mr Berry said.

The officer was “smiling” when describing it, the hearing was told.

Pc Sinclair-Birt said he “whacked the shit out of the back of his legs trying to get him to the floor”, Mr Berry added.

The officer then laughed and said “never got a complaint”, then made a mocking voice and said “oh it was police brutality”, the hearing was told.

Pc Sinclair-Birt said on the programme it was “five or six strikes to his f****** legs”, then added “it wasn’t a good look” and “there’s definitely a bit of red mist there”.

The officer Pc Sinclair-Birt was talking to said he was sure he could justify it somehow and Pc Sinclair-Birt replied “I did apparently”, the hearing was told.

Mr Berry told the hearing that Pc Sinclair-Birt’s response to the allegation is that “these were empty words and not a true account” and he was embellishing an account which did occur in 2022 for “comedic effect”.

Footage of the encounter Pc Sinclair-Birt was discussing was played to the hearing, in which a suspect assaulted the officer by headbutting him in the face – the suspect was convicted of assaulting an emergency worker, Mr Berry added.

Pc Sinclair-Birt used “lawful” force and never deployed his baton during the incident, Mr Berry added.

Mr Berry said the comments were meant to be “humorous in the context of an informal chat with colleagues”, and Pc Sinclair-Birt used “dark humour as a coping strategy”.

He added: “I’m happy to confirm he did not use the excessive force that he described, he did not even draw his baton.”

But Mr Berry said Pc Sinclair-Birt “did however give a very credible sounding account” to his colleagues.

Pc Sinclair-Birt appeared to “glorify, boast about and revel in the use of force”, Mr Berry said.

Giving evidence, Pc Sinclair-Birt was asked if he intended the conversation to be taken at face value, and he said “definitely not”.