Key Facts
- •Francis Dunne (FD), a member of the Traveller community, suffered life-threatening injuries from a police officer's forceful muzzle strike to the head during an arrest.
- •The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated, initially concluding no misconduct or criminal offence.
- •The Claimants (FD's mother and FD's litigation friend) challenged the IOPC's investigation for inadequate disclosure, insufficient public scrutiny, and insufficient investigation into the use of force.
- •The IOPC subsequently conceded breaches of Article 3 ECHR investigative duty and agreed to publish its full report and re-open the investigation.
Legal Principles
Article 2 ECHR procedural obligation to investigate deaths or near-fatal injuries caused by state agents, requiring effective investigation, independence, breadth, thoroughness, and victim participation.
Makaratzis v Greece, McKerr v United Kingdom, Da Silva v United Kingdom, X v Bulgaria, Tershana v Albania, Savitskyy v Ukraine, In Re McQuillan, Petrov v Bulgaria, Khojoyan v Azerbaijan
Article 3 ECHR prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment; procedural obligation to conduct an effective investigation when credible allegations are made.
Bouyid v Belgium
Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998: Unlawful for public authorities to act incompatibly with Convention rights.
Human Rights Act 1998
Police Reform Act 2002 and Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020: Duties to keep complainants informed of investigation progress and outcomes; exceptions for national security, crime prevention, and proportionality.
Police Reform Act 2002, Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020
Outcomes
The IOPC's investigation and report were quashed.
Breaches of Articles 2 and 3 ECHR procedural obligations due to inadequate disclosure of evidence (including body-worn video footage), insufficient analysis of the use of force, lack of interviews, and inadequate public scrutiny.
The IOPC agreed to re-open the investigation.
To address the court's findings of inadequate investigation and ensure compliance with Articles 2 and 3 ECHR.
Declaration that the IOPC investigation breached Article 3 ECHR.
Insufficient investigation into the circumstances of the incident.