Officer who handcuffed mum accused of 'not paying bus fare' under investigation

A police officer who handcuffed a mum after wrongfully accusing her of not paying her bus fare is under investigation.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said a Met constable is being investigated for potential criminal offences related to racially aggravated assault and false imprisonment after the woman was wrongly arrested for bus fare evasion in Croydon, south London, in July.

Video shared on social media shows the woman in handcuffs as her distressed child stands nearby and members of the public protest. The Met confirmed the incident took place on Whitehorse Road on Friday, July 21. The force said at the time the woman failed to comply with a revenue inspector and attempted to walk from police before becoming abusive.

She was arrested on suspicion of fare evasion and detained. When it was found later she had, in fact, paid the fare she was released. The Met added on X, formerly known as Twitter: "The clip does not show the full interaction and as we've said, we'll be speaking to local community groups to listen to their views on this interaction."