Pictured: Water pistol black boy, 13, was playing with when he was rammed off his bike by armed police who mistook it for a real weapon – sparking claims from mother that her son was racially profiled

• Blue and white plastic toy is described as ‘the best gift for kids’ in online listings
• Campaigners hit out at ‘appalling’ incident that left boy ‘inches from death’

The mother of a 13-year-old black child knocked off of his bike by armed police after they mistook his water pistol for a real weapon has accused officers of racial bias – as photos emerged of the toy that prompted the ‘deeply traumatic’ callout.

In a statement read out on her behalf at a press conference on Thursday, the youngster’s mother said the incident, in Hackney, East London, would not have occurred if he had been ‘a white 13-year-old boy’. 

Met Police marksmen knocked the boy off of his bicycle, causing soft-tissue injuries, and handcuffed him on July 19 as he had a water fight with his younger sibling.

Images of the water pistol, which is widely available online, show it is made of blue and white plastic, with a large transparent container at the bottom for holding water; online listings describe it as ‘the best gift for kids, friends and family in summer’.

The incident was sparked after an officer on patrol reported a potential firearms incident, but the boy, known as Child X, was de-arrested when the nature of the ‘weapons’, which were blue and pink in colour, became clear.

This is the type of water pistol that the youngster – known as Child X – was playing with as he was rammed off of his bicycle by the Metropolitan Police

A statement was read out on behalf of the boy’s mother at a press conference on Thursday as community and campaign groups called on police to recognise institutionalised racism  

Lee Jasper (second from right), chair of the Alliance for Police Accountability, said the incident was ‘shocking and appalling’ 

The mother of the youngster said the Met Police had treated both her and her son ‘with contempt’ after she confronted police about what they had done 

The Alliance for Police Accountability (APA) has condemned the treatment of the child, saying his brightly-coloured water pistol was unmistakably a toy and that the incident demonstrated the ‘adultification’ of black children. 

In her statement, the mother of the boy, who has suffered from nightmares since the incident, said: ‘I feel let down and betrayed, not only by the police, but also by the IOPC, and by the whole system that is supposed to look after our children, black or white.

‘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?’

READ MORE: Met Police sergeant and three constables are investigated for misconduct over the arrest and strip search of a 15-year-old schoolgirl 

She added: ‘I feel broken by it all; distraught because I was not able to protect my child from what happened.’

Lee Jasper, chairman of the APA, told the press conference it was a ‘shocking and appalling case’ and that the child was ‘inches from death’.

He added: ‘Not only is a child having nightmares, not only is a mother replaying a scene which could have led to tragic consequences for her son but those who witnessed it are also suffering as a consequence of what they saw that day.’

Mr Jasper said there was increasing anecdotal evidence of ‘increasingly violent interactions between police and black children’.

He called on the Mayor of London and the Home Secretary to intervene in the case and for safeguarding practices to be amended to ‘take account of the incidence of institutionalised racism’.

Mr Jasper added: ‘Our children are routinely seen by police officers and teachers as adults instead of children.’

At the same conference Leroy Logan, a former Metropolitan Police superintendent, said the incident demonstrated ‘a failure of leadership’ and called on the police officers involved in the incident to be taken off-duty.

And Dr Wanda Wyporska, chief executive of the Black Equity Organisation civil rights group, said the case was an ‘example of institutional racism’.

She added: ‘The treatment of Child X by the Met Police was unwarranted and is genuinely unfathomable.

‘How can a toy water gun that is blue and white be considered a credible firearms situation?

‘The policing of our community and children needs significant change to get us back to the principle of policing by consent.’

The incident comes less than three years after Child Q, a black schoolgirl from Hackney, was strip-searched unsupervised by Met Police officers

Campaigners have accused the police of treating black children like adults when it came to investigating crime. Pictured: People outside Stoke Newington Police Station in London protesting the treatment of Child Q

Hackney’s police chief has apologised for the incident – but has defended his officers’ approach to a report of a firearms incident. Pictured: People outside Hackney Town Hall in London protesting the treatment of Child Q

The boy’s mother previously told the Guardian that a Met Police officer was ‘aggressive’ towards her after she challenged the force on the treatment of her child.

She told the newspaper: ‘It has been a deeply traumatic experience for him, for me and for our family as a whole.

‘The attitude of the police to him – and to me – is show up in the words of the senior officer at the scene when I protested to him about the conduct of his officers. He told me I was lucky that they had not arrested my son.

READ MORE: More than 330 Met police officers are waiting to face gross misconduct charges, force admits as it plans to hold 30 hearings a month 

‘For what? For playing with a brightly coloured plastic water gun with his younger sibling on the streets behind our home? For being a black boy on the streets of Hackney?’ 

It comes less than three years after police in the same borough strip-searched a 15-year-old girl – known as Child Q – at her school while she was on her period when she was wrongly accused of having cannabis in her possession.

A Child Safeguarding Practices Review later said racism was ‘likely’ a factor in Child Q being searched. The identity of the girl in the Walworth case has not been revealed. 

In a statement, the APA said: ‘The subsequent treatment of Child X and the horrific scene that unfolded was appalling. 

‘A police van rammed Child X off his bicycle, knocking him to the ground. 

‘He was surrounded by armed police officers who pointed their firearms at him and arrested him on suspicion of being in possession of a firearm. 

‘He was de-arrested at the scene soon afterwards, once his mother had arrived and challenged what was happening, but she too was treated with contempt by the officers when she sought an explanation for their conduct from them.’ 

An internal investigation by the Metropolitan Police found no misconduct had been committed by the officers involved. Pictured: File photo

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said he had apologised to the family. 

He said: ‘This incident was understandably extremely distressing for the boy involved as well as the rest of his family. 

‘We know it may cause public concern and we want to help the public understand why we responded in the way we did. 

READ MORE: Armed police revolt not yet squashed as Mark Rowley admits number of firearms officers on duty is ‘still significantly less than normal’ after dozens down their weapons in protest over Chris Kaba murder rap 

‘This does not in any way detract from our recognition of the trauma caused to the boy, for which I apologised soon afterwards to his family.’ 

An internal investigation by the Metropolitan Police found no misconduct had been committed by the officers involved. 

Further complaint accusing them of racial bias is still being investigated by the force’s standards department. 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog directed that the Met could carry out both investigations itself. 

Mr Conway said: ‘Our officers are dealing with fast-moving situations, based on the limited information provided to them at the time. 

‘Such is the nature of the threat from firearms that the College of Policing is clear that officers should treat all firearms as real and loaded until proven otherwise. 

‘The police have a positive legal obligation under human rights legislation to protect life, which shapes our approach to responding to suspected firearms.’ 

Child X’s family have seen body-worn video of what happened and have met Mr Conway. 

He added: ‘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.’ 

A City of London Police spokesperson said: ‘As common practice, a firearms unit from the City of London Police attended in support of Metropolitan Police firearms units at an incident on 19 July 2023.’ 

Just last month the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said officers will face a misconduct hearing, and a fourth lesser misconduct meeting, over the treatment of Child Q. 

No drugs were found in the teenager’s bags or outer clothing, and she was then strip-searched by two female officers with two male officers standing outside. Again no drugs were found. 

The Child Q case sparked a wave of protests last year, with hundreds gathering at Hackney town hall, after it emerged the teenager was searched without another adult present and in the knowledge that she was menstruating. 

The watchdog has investigated four other incidents since Child Q where children were strip-searched by Met officers.

Two have resulted in officers either facing disciplinary meetings or so-called internal ‘reflective practices’ – a strip search of a child in custody in 2022 with no appropriate adult, and the search of a 15-year-old girl at Walworth Police Station in December 2020 who was found to have a sharpened stick and a Stanley knife.

The third was a strip search of a 16-year-old boy at Ilford police station in January 2020 where no further action is being taken against the officers involved.

For the fourth, a strip search of a 16-year-old boy at Bethnal Green police station in October 2020, the IOPC investigation has yet to be completed but it is expected that no disciplinary proceedings will result.

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