POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland “did not use excessive force” when responding to a report of a firearm in a car that turned out to be a toy water pistol, a Police Ombudsman investigation has found. 

The incident happened in September 2025 when PSNI armed response officers responded to reports that a gun had been seen in a car being driven in Belfast.

After investigating a complaint about what happened, Police Ombudsman investigators found that officers had been right to treat it as a potentially serious threat and “acted appropriately”. 

Body worn video footage and CCTV coverage was reviewed. Investigators said it showed the complainant stepping out of the vehicle and placing his hands on his head as instructed.

He was then brought to the ground by two police officers.

The investigation report said one of the officers told investigators that he had made “a split-second decision” to pull the complainant to the ground after his left hand moved downwards and he believed that it was a high-risk situation.

The investigation found that this movement was not clearly visible on video footage, but that the officer’s account “was consistent with his notebook entry and the recorded motion of his own hands at the time”.

Ombudsman investigators also assessed whether the force used was both necessary and proportionate.

They found that taking the complainant to the ground and maintaining control until he was handcuffed and the suspected weapon secured fell within the bounds of reasonable force.

The Ombudsman also examined a complaint about the same officer using the water pistol at the scene.

The officer acknowledged he sprayed it once at the ground and said that his intention had been to de‑escalate what was “likely to have been a traumatic incident for the complainant and others involved”.

It was also noted that, by this stage, the complainant’s friends “were engaging positively with officers”.

Although the act was deemed to have been “unprofessional” in the context of an armed response deployment, Police Ombudsman investigators accepted the officer’s explanation and did not recommend any further action.

Senior investigator Martin McCaffery said: “Having carefully assessed the evidence, including the reports made to police by members of the public, we are satisfied that there is no evidence to suspect that the officers have conducted themselves in a manner that would warrant a recommendation for either criminal or misconduct sanctions.

“It is important that all such actions by police are independently and robustly investigated to ensure that the use of force by police is necessary, justified and proportionate in the circumstances.”