Senior police officer investigated after drone crash injures child

A senior police officer is under investigation for misconduct after his drone crashed into and injured a child.

Kent Police said officers were called to reports of an assault in progress on the Isle of Sheppey just after 4pm on Saturday, August 2.

A Kent Police spokesman said: “A force drone was deployed in the area as part of a search for the suspect. During the operation, it struck an aerial cable and fell to the ground, striking a child and injuring his hand. The injured were treated at a London hospital.”

The force made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is currently conducting an independent investigation into the circumstances.

In a statement, the IOPC said: “We can confirm that we are independently investigating an incident where a child was injured when a drone crashed while being flown by Kent Police.”

They added: “As part of an ongoing investigation, we reported misconduct against a special investigator. Serving a report does not necessarily mean that disciplinary proceedings will be taken.”

Due to the ongoing investigation, neither the police nor the IOPC have released the child’s age.

Details of the incident were tracked by drone commentator and analyst Ian Hudson, who followed the force for months through Freedom of Information requests to find out what had happened.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it was carrying out a safety investigation. They told the BBC that the drone was a UAS DJI M30T model, a high-performance drone that weighs around 4 kg (9 lb) and is designed for professional use.

According to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, a review in early 2023 found that UK police forces currently use close to 400 drones in total.