A 91-year-old woman with dementia was reportedly handcuffed with a spit cap over her head by Metropolitan Police officers after an altercation with her carer.
The elderly and frail woman was then allegedly strapped onto a stretcher with a mask covering her face before being taken to hospital in a police van from her home in Peckham, south London.
The Independent Bureau of Police Behavior has now launched an investigation into the ‘shocking’ incident where neighbors were alerted by ‘crying and screaming’ from a distressed woman.
An officer has been suspended from using a Taser after ‘heavy detention’ was reviewed by police, The sun signed up last night.
Five other police officers have limited desk duties and are unable to interact with the public at all while the ‘heavy’ confrontation, in which the pensioner reportedly suffered cuts and bruises, continues to be investigated.
A 91-year-old woman with dementia was handcuffed with a spit cap over her head by Metropolitan Police officers after an argument with her carer. Pictured: File photo of a man wearing a spit cap
The incident took place on May 9 in Peckham, south London, where the elderly and frail woman was reportedly strapped onto a stretcher before being taken to hospital in a police van. Stock image
Met police had been called to the apartment building on May 9 after a disagreement between the woman and her carer.
The older woman, described as thin and short, is said to have panicked and ranted at the police. She also threw cups of coffee at officers, the newspaper reported.
She was later handcuffed with a hood thrown over her head, before one of the officers grabbed a taser and set the gun’s aim. However, the Taser was not released on the mother of three children.
A neighbor told me The sun: ‘I heard her crying and screaming.
“I looked out my window and saw that she had tied her to a gurney – it was terrible.
“There were two cop cars and a van—you’d think with all those people they’d manage without tying her up.”
The unnamed source added that the woman had lived in the flat for many years and her mental health had deteriorated over the past decade.
MailOnline has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
Former Met commander John O’Connor said the officers’ treatment of the old woman was “incomprehensible” and said it should have been handled with my medical professionals “who knew what they were doing.”
One officer is suspended, while the other five have limited desk duties. Pictured: File photo of Metropolitan Police officers
He added, “It’s absolutely shocking. The officers could have easily killed her with this heavy-handed treatment.
“This was a very aggressive way of treating a 91-year-old woman who was clearly very distressed.”
Although the IOPC is now aware of the incident, it reportedly took police more than a week to notify the public body.
A spokesperson for the IOPC told MailOnline: ‘We can confirm that we are investigating the violence used by Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers after they detained a 91-year-old woman in Peckham earlier this month.
‘On May 9, agents went to an address in SE15 after a report of disturbances. We understand that a woman was detained, handcuffed and wearing a spit cap. A taser was deployed but not fired and the woman was taken to hospital.
“On May 17, the police voluntarily referred us and we launched an independent investigation, which is at an early stage.
“We have also received a public complaint about the violence used and the injuries allegedly suffered by the woman, including cuts and bruises to both wrists and one arm.
“We’ve been in touch with the woman’s family to explain our role.”
The Met Police told The Sun that one officer had been suspended and their use of Taser withdrawn following an ‘initial assessment’ of the incident.
“Five more officers have been given limited duties, meaning they will have no contact with the public while the incident is being investigated.
The woman’s family is aware of the incident.
“Police are in contact with them and have arranged for a family member to view the body-worn video of the incident,” the statement said.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (pictured May 5) has written to health and social care services to say police will not be present after August 31 unless there is a danger to life
Revelations of the incident come as the Met Police announced plans yesterday that will bar officers from attending mental health incidents.
Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has written to health and social care services to say that after August 31, police will no longer take part in emergency calls related to mental health unless there is a life-threatening condition.
The plans have raised the alarm with critics warning that there would be “no one left to call” for those suffering.
Questions have also been raised as to whether the plans will prove practical in practice.
Former Superintendent of Police Zoe Billingham, who is also chair of NHS mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk, said the change was ‘potentially alarming’.
“I think it would be very, very dangerous for the police to unilaterally withdraw from attending mental health crisis calls now,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
A Met spokesman said the force was needed to “redress the imbalance of responsibility,” noting the significant amount of time such incidents take.