Metropolitan Officers Found Guilty of Misconduct After Traumatizing Stop and Search
Metropolitan Police officers PC Martin Binala and PC Stuart Dunne faced misconduct findings after an improper stop and search resulted in injury to an innocent man, Karo Grigoryan.
PC Binala was fired for falsely reporting he smelled cannabis and forcibly removing Grigoryan from his car. PC Dunne received a written warning.
The plain-clothed officers erroneously conducted the stop without body cams, near Grigoryan's home, during a drug-dealing suppression operation. A third officer's camera captured the incident, showing a distressed Grigoryan being pepper-sprayed and pleading for help.
The panel noted the officers neglected to properly identify themselves to the non-English-fluent Grigoryan, who resisted, mistakenly believing he was being robbed. Despite no drugs found in Grigoryan's car, the officers delayed medical assistance and kept him handcuffed.
Grigoryan sustained facial and eardrum injuries and remains severely traumatized. The misconduct aims to maintain public trust, with the question raised of public perception toward such police mistreatment.
PC Binala's lawyer argued the incident was a misjudged stop and search, not indicative of Binala's character or his valuable insights as a young black officer within the Met. Sergeant Cathcart is scheduled for a separate misconduct review, and the panel's full written decisions are pending release.
The plain-clothed officers erroneously conducted the stop without body cams, near Grigoryan's home, during a drug-dealing suppression operation. A third officer's camera captured the incident, showing a distressed Grigoryan being pepper-sprayed and pleading for help.
The panel noted the officers neglected to properly identify themselves to the non-English-fluent Grigoryan, who resisted, mistakenly believing he was being robbed. Despite no drugs found in Grigoryan's car, the officers delayed medical assistance and kept him handcuffed.
Grigoryan sustained facial and eardrum injuries and remains severely traumatized. The misconduct aims to maintain public trust, with the question raised of public perception toward such police mistreatment.
PC Binala's lawyer argued the incident was a misjudged stop and search, not indicative of Binala's character or his valuable insights as a young black officer within the Met. Sergeant Cathcart is scheduled for a separate misconduct review, and the panel's full written decisions are pending release.
