Officers acted appropriately after toy gun triggered Armed Response, says Police Ombudsman
Officers did not use excessive force while responding to a “credible” report of a firearm in a car subsequently found to have been a toy water pistol, the Police Ombudsman has found.
The incident happened in September 2025 when Armed Response officers responded to reports that a gun had been seen in a car being driven in Belfast.
After investigating a complaint, Police Ombudsman investigators found officers had been right to treat it as a potentially serious threat.
Body Worn Video and available CCTV coverage was reviewed, showing the complainant stepping out of the vehicle and placing his hands on his head as instructed. He was then brought to the ground by two police officers.
One of the officers told Ombudsman investigators he had made a split-second decision to pull the complainant to the ground after his left hand moved downwards and he believed it was a high-risk situation.
The investigation found while this movement was not clearly visible on video footage, the officer’s account was consistent with his notebook entry and the recorded motion of his own hands at the time.
Investigators also assessed whether the force used was both necessary and proportionate.
They considered given the nature of the report, the perceived risk, and the officer’s credible belief that the complainant’s hand had moved, taking the complainant to the ground and maintaining control until he was handcuffed and the suspected weapon secured, fell within the bounds of reasonable force.
The Ombudsman also examined a complaint about the same officer having used the water pistol at the scene. He acknowledged having sprayed it once at the ground and stated his intention had been to de‑escalate what was likely to have been a traumatic incident for the complainant and others involved.
It was also noted that, by this stage, the complainant’s friends were engaging positively with officers.
Although the act was deemed to have been unprofessional in the context of an Armed Response deployment, Police Ombudsman investigators accepted the officer’s explanation and did not recommend any further action.
Senior Investigator, Martin McCaffery, said: “Having carefully assessed the evidence, including the reports made to police by members of the public, we are satisfied that there is no evidence to suspect that the officers have conducted themselves in a manner that would warrant a recommendation for either criminal or misconduct sanctions.
"It is important that all such actions by police are independently and robustly investigated to ensure that the use of force by police is necessary, justified and proportionate in the circumstances.”