Man praised for comforting young black boy detained by police in East London for ‘playfighting’

Police claim that a group of boys had started to run away after they noticed them

A man has been praised for helping calm a young boy after he was handcuffed by police, with witnesses claiming he had been ‘playfighting’ with friends.

The incident happened on Sunday, July 26, on Pepper Street, Crossharbour, in East London. In a video posted on social media, a young black boy is being handcuffed by two plainclothed police officers. In the video, the police officers explain they arrested him as it looked from a distance that the kids were fighting and ‘kids as young as you, with weapons, knives’ while the kid said he ‘did nothing’.

The man, a passerby, waited around and comforted the child by telling him to ‘relax’ and telling the officers to ‘be gentle, he’s a child’. The incident drew online comments, with people praising the man for staying to support the child. The person who posted the video claimed they had ‘innocently’ seen the child and his white friends ‘playfighting’ near a train station before police chased them.

The Metropolitan Police released a statement about the incident, in which they claimed the video showed ‘only a section of what took place’.

They wrote: “Our officers were on patrol in the area where they witnessed a group fighting. From a distance, it was not possible to tell how old they were. On noticing the police officers, the group ran from the area and dispersed items – including a balaclava – as they did so.

“Officers pursued two of the group on foot and detained one boy close to Pepper Street, where a stop and search was carried out. That decision wasn’t based on race; the other boy just got away from a second officer. The stop and search was done respectfully, and officers fully explained why they had chased and stopped the boy.

“No offences were identified and all involved with the given words of advice around their behaviour, including about running from the police when challenged, and wearing balaclavas, which, while not an offence in itself, has the potential to intimidate the public and will inevitably draw the attention of officers.”

Commenters on X praised the man for staying with the child and offering comfort as he was being detained. One person wrote: “Thank god for that man stepping in and calming the poor boy down.”

Another wrote: “A little over the top, to say the least. Whatever happened to stopping someone, having a word, and issuing a warning? In my opinion, this arrest was unnecessary, and his parents should have been informed on the spot. Respect to the man for stepping in, reminding the officer he’s dealing with a child, and keeping the boy calm though.”

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