The conduct of six suspended London Metropolitan police officers is under investigation, Scotland Yard confirmed, amid British media reports that they allegedly tortured drug suspects.
Police officials did not elaborate on why the officers, based just north of London, were under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. According to Scotland Yard Tuesday, a fellow officer came forward with information which “raised concerns about the conduct of a small number of officers on Enfield borough” in connection to the arrests of five people in November. The department’s investigation resulted in a referral to the police complaints commission in April. In its statement Scotland Yard said: “Whilst the investigation is on-going it is not appropriate to make assumptions. That said these are serious allegations that do raise real concern. “The Met does not tolerate conduct which falls below the standards that the public and the many outstanding Met officers and staff expect. Any allegations of such behavior are treated very seriously, as this case illustrates, and if found true the strongest possible action will be taken. The Independent newspaper reported on its Web site that the officers “are understood to have pushed the suspects’ heads into buckets of water in a bid to force them to reveal the locations of drugs.” “The torture claims are part of a wide-ranging investigation which also includes accusations that officers fabricated evidence and stole suspects’ property,” reported The Times in London on its Web site. “It has already led to the abandonment of a drug trial and the suspension of several police officers.”
