Police to reinvestigate officers after boy impaled

A police force has been told to re-examine the actions of its officers after a teenage boy's chin was impaled on a fence while being restrained.

Rocco Kirkpatrick was being held by Suffolk Police officers near a spiked metal fence in Lowestoft in June.

The schoolboy, who was 15 at the time, was left needing plastic surgery, but an internal investigation ruled "the injury was not caused by officers using unlawful or excessive force".

But the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the investigation was "not reasonable and proportionate" and told the police to look into the incident again.

The IOPC has suggested the force this time takes an account from Rocco and obtains additional responses from the officers who were involved.

It has also been told to conduct a wider review of dashcam footage and reconsider whether any actions by the police caused or contributed to the boy's injury.

"We decided that the handling of the complaint was not reasonable and proportionate and that lines of inquiry were not pursued," an IOPC spokesperson said.

The IOPC's decision came after an appeal was lodged by Rocco's mother, Jade Kirkpatrick, and their solicitor Iain Gould, back in December.

While "pleased" the matter was being looked at again, Gould said he was unhappy to hear the same detective constable was leading the inquiry.

"I now await confirmation from Suffolk Police that this matter has been properly re-allocated and that a full, fresh and rigorous investigation, implementing all necessary procedures, will be commenced forthwith," he said.

Suffolk Police would only confirm to the BBC that a senior investigating officer had been assigned to reinvestigate the handling of the incident.

Rocco had been with friends at the First Light Festival on 21 June when he was pulled away from a crowd by police officers between 21:30 BST and 22:00.

Officers were attempting to de-escalate rising tensions in the Cliff Road area of the event after a "volatile" crowd of more than 300 "hostile" people had gathered.

The police's previous report said officers escorted him away because he had "repeatedly refused instructions to move away" and had become "verbally confrontational".

Rocco's mother has said her son was "in no way aggressive" during the incident.

CCTV footage appeared to show Rocco being pressed against the fence before his skin was pierced by the metal post.

But the police report stated he had "dropped his body weight while resisting handcuffs" and the injury was a result of "his own sudden downward movement".

The force previously said that it had been "thoroughly investigated by the Professional Standards Department" and "no misconduct" had been found.

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