Student, 21, was handcuffed and ‘humiliated’ in dressing gown

AVON and Somerset Police has apologised to a young woman after officers investigating disorder at Bristol’s Kill the Bill protests burst into her bedroom and handcuffed her while in her dressing gown.

Officers posing as postal workers tricked their way into the home of photography student Katie McGoran after she attended a Kill the Bill protest in Bristol in March.

Miss McGoran, 21, said she was left partially undressed in handcuffs for 20 minutes with the four male officers failing to release her despite her becoming increasingly distressed.

The 21-year-old student – who has no police record – told The Guardian the experience left her “traumatised and humiliated” and made a formal complaint against the force.

The complaint was investigated by the force’s Professional Standards Department.

The investigation concluded it was unacceptable for officers to keep her in cuffs after it became likely she was not the person they were seeking and any perceived threat had diminished.

Body camera footage examined as part of the investigation also showed Miss McGoran was “obviously shocked and distressed” at the presence of male officers in her bedroom.

It also showed that officers failed to introduce themselves and explain why they were there.

The investigation ruled that it was unacceptable for officers not to read Miss McGoran her rights and for some of them to be without face masks due to the public health risks of the coronavirus pandemic.

The investigation also said that the force should have considered using fewer officers and deploying a female officer to the incident.

No officers will face disciplinary action as a result of the incident.

The force has defended the use of its “postman tactic” saying it was acceptable and lawful and had been used for decades.

And it added that it was “acting entirely out of a sense of duty” to apprehend those involved in the violence.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “On receiving the complaint from Ms McGoran our Professional Standards Department immediately looked into her concerns.

“While no individual conduct issues were identified, we fully accept there were aspects of our interaction with Ms McGoran which fell short of the standards we know the public expect.

“Officers failed to wear face masks; failed to fully explain the reasons for their actions; and in detaining Ms McGoran for longer than was necessary understandably caused her distress.

“We regret any ongoing concerns Ms McGoran has as a result of her interaction with us and going forward, we hope we can repair any loss of trust in the police.

“We have apologised to Ms McGoran in writing for the areas in which we fell short and have offered her the opportunity to discuss the matter further.

“Separately, our PSD also looked into concerns raised by a relative of a teenage girl in relation to another arrest attempt carried out in connection with the riot.

“We have written to the relative to advise them our PSD found the

❝ In detaining Ms McGoran for longer than was necessary [officers] understandably caused her distress Avon & Somerset Police

service provided was acceptable but have similarly offered them the opportunity to discuss the matter further.”

Miss McGoran told The Guardian she was she pleased the police had finally acknowledged what happened to her but it shouldn’t have taken a complaint to get an apology.

A parliamentary enquiry this year found that police breached ‘fundamental rights’ at the Kill the Bill protests in the city.

There were “multiple failings” by Avon and Somerset Police in the way it handled events in Bristol in March, according to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and the Constitution (APPGDC).