A police officer slapped a 16-year-old boy with mental health difficulties multiple times in the face 'for his own safety' because she believed he was experiencing a medical emergency, a court has heard.
Metropolitan Police constables Sevda Gonen, 33, and Stuart Price, 35, are on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with carrying out an unlawful search, amounting to assault by beating on November 14, 2023.
Gonen, of Leytonstone, London, faces a further charge of assault for striking the boy 'multiple times in the face with an open palm' after 'she allowed her frustrations to get the better of her', the prosecution alleged.
Both officers deny the charges.
Gonen told the court on Thursday that she believed the boy had fallen unresponsive and decided to 'slap his cheeks very gently to rouse him or get a reaction'.
Police were initially called after the boy was reported to have been aggressive at his home address and acted violently towards a mental health worker who was attempting to perform an assessment.
The boy's mother told the court that her son has psychotic episodes and is a 'completely different character' when he is unwell.
A camera inside a police vehicle captured conversation between the officers on their way to the boy's home in north London, in which Gonen was heard to call him 'a f little sh*t', the court heard.
Metropolitan Police constables Sevda Gonen, 33, and Stuart Price, 35, are on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with carrying out an unlawful search, amounting to assault by beating on a 16-year-old boy last November.
Gonen, of Leytonstone, London , faces a further charge of assault for striking the boy 'multiple times in the face with an open palm' after 'she allowed her frustrations to get the better of her', the prosecution alleged.
Price said of the boy: 'He's a f dickhead,' with Gonen replying 'I've had enough of him.'
Gonen apologised for the remarks, telling the court that the conversation was 'in the heat of the moment'.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Gonen 'in particular disliked' the boy and 'had formed the impression that he was wasting their time by faking some form of mental illness'.
Once at the address, Price, of Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, offered to drive the boy to hospital in a police van after his mother told officers she was concerned for her son's welfare.
The boy then climbed into back of the vehicle but left his foot out, preventing the closing of the rear door, the court heard.
In bodycam footage, Price is heard to tell the boy: 'We're just trying to take you to hospital. You're not in trouble.'
Footage from within the police vehicle showed that the boy lit a cigarette and started to smoke as the van was driven to Whittington Hospital, the court heard.
Gonen then climbed into the caged back of the vehicle and pushed the boy into the corner, which the prosecution accepted was lawful.
The incident occurred as the officers attempted to take the boy to the Whittington Hospital in the belief he was experiencing a 'medical episode'
After a struggle, the boy was placed in handcuffs but not arrested.
In a subsequent use of force form, filled out by Price, the officer said the boy had 'actively offered resistance to Gonen's efforts to take his cigarette', with Gonen writing in her form the boy offered 'aggressive resistance'.
Gonen said the boy's smoking made her 'panic' as there were 'huge safety risks', adding that she suffers from asthma and smoking in the vehicle was 'criminal damage'.
The boy was searched after officers expressed concern he could have something in his pockets.
The prosecution said the search was unlawful as the boy had not been arrested.
Price told the court the search was to 'prevent further offences taking place'.
He can be heard on bodyworn footage, shown in court, telling Gonen: 'Just to let you know he's been spitting in my face.'
The officers then agreed to section the boy and Gonen told the boy that he was being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Gonen said she was worried about him spitting, so put a coat collar by his mouth, the court heard.
The officer told the court she never had any 'malice' towards the boy, adding: 'The only way I could manage the spit was to get hold and restrain him by the hair. I was also mindful that he could possibly headbutt us.'
The boy's eyes lowered and he became less responsive, with Price heard on footage saying: 'You alright, mate? We're just trying to help you mate.'
Price then said to Gonen: 'Yeah, he's hot to touch.'
In bodyworn footage shown to court, Gonen then appears to slap the boy's face several times while holding him by the hair, causing his eyes to flicker.
Discussing her actions, Gonen told the court: 'Any time there was a concern for his life, I decided the best course of action was to gently slap him on his cheeks.
'I was never trying to hurt him; this was solely for his own safety.
'At that moment in time I thought I was saving somebody’s life. I thought I was preventing a medical emergency from occurring.'
The prosecution said this constituted assault by beating as it was excessive, not an approved technique, and 'PC Gonen did not reasonably believe that it was necessary'.
Mr Harris said it was 'evident' Gonen had a 'dislike' of the boy and was 'frustrated' by the incident in the vehicle and what she perceived as his 'playacting'.
The prosecutor added: 'PC Gonen did not consider this to be a medical emergency; the evidence suggests she allowed her frustrations to get the better of her and she struck him in the face while holding him by the hair multiple times.'
In a subsequent interview, Price said the slaps were 'clearly not an approved police technique', but Gonen was trying 'to rouse him to see if it was a medical emergency'.
The Metropolitan Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in December 2023, and the watchdog passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service in April.
The trial continues.