Mum condemns police after son impaled on railing

The mother of a teenager whose chin was impaled on a fence while being confronted by police has accused the force of lying after an inquiry ruled officers did nothing wrong.

Rocco Kirkpatrick was with friends at the First Light Festival, Lowestoft, on 21 June, when he was pulled away from a crowd by Suffolk Police officers.

While being restrained near a spiked metal fence Rocco, who was 15, had a serious injury to the underside of his chin, which left him needing plastic surgery.

Jade Kirkpatrick, who has seen CCTV footage of the restraining incident, said officers "nearly killed him", but an internal investigation ruled "the injury was not caused by officers using unlawful or excessive force".

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it would review Suffolk Police's handling of the family's complaint.

The incident happened between 21:30 BST and 22:00 on Cliff Road near the seafront as officers attempted to de-escalate rising tensions at the event.

According to a report from the police force's own standards department, the festival was shut down after a "volatile" crowd of over 300 "hostile" people had gathered in a music area "resulting in fights and bottles being thrown".

It added that "anti-police hostility" started to emerge within the crowd, with cans and bottles being thrown at officers as they attempted to handle the situation.

Jade, 41, told the BBC her son was "in no way aggressive" but was forcibly removed from the crowd after questioning why his 14-year-old friend had been "taken to the ground" by four officers.

The report, however, said officers escorted Rocco away because he had "repeatedly refused instructions to move away" and had become "verbally confrontational".

It also claimed he had used swearwords and "attempted to push past a female who was trying to keep him away from police", resulting in concerns that "his behaviour could escalate tensions".

Jade said the officers had "pushed and pulled" her son and acted in an "aggressive and "intimidating" way towards him, while the report also acknowledged one of them had told him to "grow up".

"I believe they picked Rocco and his friend because they were the quiet ones and they were the easy targets," she said.

"I think the officers were angry because of what had happened during the day and they'd had enough. Unfortunately it got taken out on my son."

After being escorted away from the crowd, the CCTV footage seen by the BBC showed Rocco being held in front of metal railings as he was spoken to by police officers.

He leaned backwards into one of the officers before both of his arms were placed and held behind his back as two officers attempted to restrain him from behind before trying to handcuff him.

It was at this point that the two officers appeared to push him closer towards the fence before his legs went from underneath him and the skin under his chin was pierced by a metal post.

The report stated Rocco was injured as he "dropped his body weight while resisting handcuffs" and it was a result of "his own sudden downward movement".

But Jade disagreed.

"It's heart-breaking as a mum because they nearly killed him and then lied about it, and there is no accountability," she said.

"He didn't drop his body weight; it wasn't his fault; this report is full of lies. We are meant to trust these officers yet they are doing this to a child.

"I'm absolutely disgusted with the force and I can't trust the police at all anymore, nor can Rocco."

The BBC has seen pictures of a gaping, open hole on the underside of Rocco's chin.

The resulting stitches extend from one side of his jawbone to the other.

The report claimed Rocco, who was never arrested, then pulled himself up off the railing, despite being advised against doing so, but Jade said officers had forced him up and off it.

She also said that despite her son "crying in pain", officers did not stop to provide immediate care and instead walked him down the road without assessing his injury.

The report, however, said officers took a T-shirt out of his rucksack – in which an empty bottle of vodka was found – to use to put pressure on the injury.

It also said officers "immediately provided first aid" and called for an ambulance "straightaway over the radio" and on a phone, as Rocco repeatedly stated "I don't want to die".

"The officers' behaviour towards Rocco demonstrates professional intent and demeanour," the report said.

"There is no credible evidence that Rocco or any other individual was treated disrespectfully, discourteously, or subjected to gratuitous aggression or intimidation.

"Officer communications throughout were consistent with public order control, safety, and medical priority."

Rocco was taken to James Paget University Hospital in nearby Gorleston-on-Sea before having surgery on the "deep, irregular laceration" the next day at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital.

He was left with scars which "have healed lovely, but will be there forever", his mother said.

Jade said the ordeal had affected him mentally.

"It was horrible because he was crying and had this big hole in his chin, but he's lucky to be here, so that's all we concentrate on," she added.

"He is conscious of his scar and he's missed quite a lot of school because he'll wake up and have bad dreams and then just not feel like he can go anywhere.

"He used to be such a happy, funny character, but he is far from that now.

"As a mum, this has been the most emotionally heart-breaking thing that I've ever had to go through - they were millimetres away from killing him."

The IOPC decided the matter did not need investigating and said it returned the complaint to Suffolk Police to "handle in whichever way".

But Jade has subsequently complained about how the force handled its own inquiry.

"They should take it more seriously this time because they failed Rocco and the family by not taking it seriously," said Jade.

The family was being supported by law firm DPP Law and solicitor Iain Gould, who said they could "only trust, with the IOPC's intervention, this will be put right".

"Public faith and confidence in the police is grievously undermined by self-serving white-washes such as this investigation," he added.

He said he would also be making a civil claim against the chief constable, "seeking substantial damages for the brutal injuries".

Suffolk Police told the BBC the complaint had been "thoroughly investigated by the Professional Standards Department" and "no misconduct" had been found.

"The complaint resolution report has been provided to the complainant who has appealed the decision to the IOPC. A review is under way," a spokesperson said.

An IOPC spokesperson said the case had been allocated to a caseworker who had contacted the complainant.

"We will assess all of the evidence and material that the police have relied upon and decide whether the outcome or handling of the complaint was reasonable and proportionate," the spokesperson said.

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