Police van ramming boy 13, with water pistol off his bike ‘was reasonable force’

The actions of armed police who surrounded and arrested a 13-year-old boy after an officer mistook his water pistol for a real gun were ‘reasonable in the circumstances’ (Picture: Getty)

Armed cops who swarmed a 13-year-old boy after his water pistol was mistaken for a real gun have been cleared of wrongdoing by the police watchdog.

The schoolboy, identified only as Child X, was rammed off his bike by a police van and handcuffed while surrounded by marksmen in Hackney, east London, in July.