Complaint after officers handcuff 12-year-old

A misconduct investigation is under way into two Kent Police officers who handcuffed a 12-year-boy on suspicion of stealing a roadworks sign.

Reuben, from Sevenoaks, was playing in a park off Buckhurst Lane in the town on 25 May with a stop-go sign, which he and four friends said they had found discarded nearby.

The group were then approached by officers who stopped and searched them, before letting them go with no further action required.

The boy's family called the incident one of "disproportionate force", but Kent Police say the use of handcuffs is allowed at any age, although the officers concerned will be expected to justify their actions.

Having lodged a formal complaint, Reuben's mother, Hilary Ibhagbemien, described her son as "absolutely traumatised" by what had been "his first interaction with the police".

"There's just no need for it because he listens and is compliant and respectful.

"So they could have just spoken to him like the child he is," she said.

His father Callum Reddish added that, as the father of a black child, he had already given Reuben "the conversation" about possibly being stopped and searched by police at some point.

"It's something that happened to me, as well as to my own dad when he was young," he said.

"So it's not a new problem, but I didn't expect it to be happening to Reuben in Year 7.

"No adult should be dealing with a child as though they are an adult, it's that simple."

Ch Supt Neil Loudon from Kent Police said he did not want "any young person to be worried, concerned or scared of an interaction with the police.

"But our officers are also duty bound to deal with any incidents that are reported."

He added the force had responded to calls about "a road sign being stolen from Dartford Road", CCTV inquiries into which showed "a group of young people with it shortly after it was taken".

This led to "five individuals from mixed ethnicities" being stopped, "all of whom were dealt with exactly the same", said Loudon.

He said each of the group's "parents or guardians were called by officers to explain stop and search procedures had been carried out".

The five were then "given words of advice and allowed to move on", he said.

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