South Wales Police says it has seen the video and sent the case to its Professional Standards Department, while the boy’s mother alleges officers also took phones and a second scooter
South Wales Police has referred an incident in Pontardawe, in the Swansea Valley, to its internal Professional Standards Department after footage showed a 12-year-old boy in pyjama trousers being forced to the ground and handcuffed by three officers. Zain Evans was found near a disused chapel on Wednesday 28 October, and officers took his e-scooter. His mother, Emily Evans, says he was treated in hospital for muscle injuries and cuts from broken glass. The force has acknowledged public concern about the force used. No findings have been announced.
What the video shows
Mobile phone footage shows Zain, in Hello Kitty pyjama trousers, a hoodie and a cycling helmet, helping a female officer carry his scooter along an overgrown alley beside the chapel. A friend filming says: “Are you taking his scooter? He’s only been walking it. He hasn’t driven it once.” The officer replies: “Oh, please. I wasn’t born yesterday. Stop lying.”
Standing in the scooter’s path, Zain says: “You’re not taking it. I’m not letting you – I’ve got school.” A male officer tells him to move out of the way, grabs him from behind and says he is under arrest. The Daily Mail reports that Zain was forced to the floor and handcuffed by three officers.
The force’s position
According to a South Wales Police statement reported by the Daily Mail, officers saw suspected criminal damage at a disused church on Swansea Road at about 2.15pm. They searched people suspected of offences and seized an e-scooter believed to have been used illegally. The force has not said what damage was caused, who was responsible, or what evidence suggested the scooter had been ridden. It said officers have contacted Zain’s mother.
A referral to a force’s own Professional Standards Department is not an independent investigation. The statement did not mention a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), charges, or any suspension of officers.
The family’s allegations
Ms Evans told the Daily Mail:
- Her son’s scooter was not working. She says its electrics had failed and he was taking it to a friend’s house to be looked at.
- Officers also took Zain’s mobile phone and a friend’s phone.
- Officers visited the friend’s family farm on Thursday 29 October and removed a second scooter.
- A phone number the family was given to retrieve the scooters led to a storage compound that had no record of them.
- Police seemed unaware that three officers were involved, and appeared to have recorded two.
- Zain was told he was under arrest but was not formally arrested.
The police statement does not address these claims, and none has been independently confirmed.
What the rules say
College of Policing guidance says handcuffing must be lawful, reasonable, necessary and proportionate, and a power to search or arrest does not by itself justify it. Officers are told not to use handcuffs routinely during searches, to keep the need under review, and to record why force was used. Use of force is judged against what officers reasonably believed at the time, so any misconduct finding would look at the whole incident, not just social media footage.
Department for Transport guidance says privately owned e-scooters cannot legally be ridden on public roads, pavements or parks. It does not say that simply pushing one is an offence, and South Wales Police’s own advice distinguishes riding from possessing one. Pontardawe and Swansea are not on the Government’s list of rental e-scooter trial areas.
South Wales Police seized 16 electric vehicles in the Neath and Pontardawe area on 12 July under Operation Arnellia, saying it responded to repeated complaints about antisocial use. The force has not linked that operation to Zain.
