Two Metropolitan Police officers have been dismissed without notice after kicking and punching a 14-year-old boy during an arrest in north London.

The officers, PC Alexei Zalesskiy and PC Conor Ryan, were dismissed for gross misconduct for using excessive force on the child.

A hearing panel also found they breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to honesty and integrity when they lied about the incident in statements taken immediately after.

The pair went to a park near Wilberforce Road in the Finsbury Park area of London on 17 April 2021 after reports of teenagers fighting, possibly with a knife.

Several stop and searches were carried out but no knife was found.

During attempts to disperse the group, one boy became agitated at being pushed by police.

He started shouting at officers and spat in an officer’s face.

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He then ran from the officers who chased him and detained him for assaulting an officer.

The boy was handcuffed but not charged and no further action was taken.

The panel found PC Zalesskiy punched the boy at least once and PC Ryan kicked him in the neck/head area and struck him in the thigh with his knee, which was seen on CCTV and police body cameras.

The director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Amanda Rowe said: “The force used on this child was neither reasonable nor proportionate in the circumstances.

“The public must have confidence that when officers are required to use force to detain and arrest members of the public, they will only use the minimum amount of force necessary.

“To compound matters, they then tried to justify their actions by lying on their initial statements following the incident,” she said.

“Their dismissals send a strong message that there will be serious consequences for police officers who use gratuitous violence and are dishonest about their actions.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines said: “Officers have to act with restraint and the public of course would expect them to be honest about their actions.

“Action will be taken against any officer whose behaviour falls below that which is expected.

“We are determined to drive up standards, and those who fail to meet those standards have no place in the Met.”

PCs Zalesskiy and Ryan will now be added to the College of Policing’s “barred list” – meaning they cannot be employed by police, local policing bodies (PCCs), the IOPC or Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

The hearing came after an investigation carried out by the IOPC. A file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, which felt the case did not meet the threshold for charges.

The dismissals come as a woman in her 80s was critically injured on Wednesday by a police motorcyclist that was accompanying Prince Edward’s wife Sophie.

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