Teenager wrongly arrested wins race discrimination claim against the Met

Daryl McLune was 16 when he was held for 23 hours on suspicion of attempting to murder his mother after she tried to take her own life

A teenager who was wrongly arrested for the attempted murder of his mother minutes after she had tried to kill herself has won a race discrimination claim against the Metropolitan police.

A jury found that the Met discriminated against Daryl McLune, who was 16 at the time, because he was black.

McLune was arrested and held for 23 hours on suspicion of the attempted murder of his mother, Annette, after she attempted to take her own life at their home in London in 2021.

The civil trial centred on the events of 25 July 2021, when McLune returned home after a call from his father, Travayne, to find his mother on the ground outside their home.

Central London county court heard that officers arrested the boy for the attempted murder of his mother. McLune was taken to Wandsworth police station, where he was held for 23 hours.

The court also heard that he remained in handcuffs for five hours until police took forensic samples from his hands, which were never processed or submitted.

After the verdict on Thursday, McLune said: “I am pleased and grateful to the jury for considering my case so carefully and for reaching the decision that they have.

“I have waited a long time for this vindication. And while I will never forget these events, having the jury confirm I should never have been arrested will, I hope, help me to try to move on and recover from this incident.”

McLune was described in court as a diligent student and had no previous contact with police. He subsequently dropped out of school after his arrest.

Arguing for a damages payout of about £130,000, McLune’s lawyers from Bhatt Murphy solicitors told the court the ordeal had a profound effect on his life and he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares and flashbacks.

The court also heard that blood in the family’s flat led officers to believe the incident was “suspicious”, while police were unaware of bloody razor blades and a suicide note, which were later discovered.

But at the end of a seven-day trial, the jury returned their verdicts on 19 questions of fact, finding that it was proved that McLune was treated “less favourably than a non-black boy” would have been by the police in deciding to arrest him and then detain him for such a long period of time.

They also found that the Met had not proved the officer who arrested the teenager at the scene “honestly suspected” he had committed the offence of attempted murder.

The Met had also failed to convince them that it was “reasonable and necessary” to keep him handcuffed until forensic samples were taken.

Although the jury found that his handcuffing had not involved excessive force, his treatment as a whole was a breach under the European convention on human rights, not to be subjected to “inhuman or degrading treatment”.

The judge, Andrew Holmes, will rule on the amount of compensation at a later date.

The Met said: “We are aware of the findings of a jury in a civil trial relating to the arrest and detention of a boy in July 2021.

“We acknowledge how distressing it was for the boy to have been arrested in these tragic circumstances.

“The Met is committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, including unconscious bias. We know cases like this damage the trust communities have in us and we will be considering the outcome carefully.”

Additional reporting by Champion News Service

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org . In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org