A probe has been launched after a black schoolboy accused police of racial profiling because he was stopped by officers around 30 times in two years.
The 14-year-old, from South London, said he fears leaving his home after being repeatedly stopped and searched.
Now the Metropolitan Police has said a standards investigation is underway.
The teenager, who has not been charged with any crimes, told The Guardian : “I don’t carry a knife and I’m not involved with drugs.
"I’ve even been stopped by the police when I’ve gone outside our flat to take the rubbish out for my mum.”
In a complaint lodged by his mother, The Guardian reports, it is alleged that the teenager was targeted because of his race.
The youngster said he was first accosted by officers in June last year, when he was just 13, and since then has been handcuffed several times.
On some occasions he has been given a paper slip saying he was stopped because he resembled a suspect, but other times he was not given paperwork explaining why he had been targeted, he said.
Earlier this month police turned up at the family's home with a search warrant, his mum said, saying he had been linked to a road rage incident.
They searched his room while he was at school, but did not find anything, she said.
The teenager was later ordered to present himself at a local police station to be interviewed.
His 41-year-old mum said she was shown a picture of the suspect, stating: "He looks nothing like my son."
She said that the man police were looking for was a "grown man", saying he was "wearing different clothing" as well as aviator shades - which her son does not wear.
In a statement the Met said: “Police are aware of two complaints received in respect of the stop and search of a 14-year-old boy.
"Both incidents happened in June 2021.
"Both complaints relate to the use of force by officers in the course of stop and search.
"The mother of the juvenile has been contacted by police to discuss the complaints.
"Professional standards officers from the South West Command Unit and the Violet Crime Task Force are conducting the inquiries."
In December last year a study by University College London's institute for global policing found that young black males in London were 19 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the general population.
Researchers analysed data from 67,997 stops in the capital between July and September last year.
Former Met superintendent Dr Victor Olisa told The Guardian at the time: “For me this is clear evidence the Met is targeting young black boys based on stereotypes and not backed by reasonable suspicion.
“This clearly does not represent evidence-based policing or intelligence-led policing. It indicates it has become more random than it was before.”
The Met has repeatedly denied racial profiling is a factor behind stop-and-search.
Earlier this year The Mirror reported that thousands of police officers and staff have been investigated in England and Wales over allegations of racism over the past five years, but only a fraction faced disciplinary action.
Campaigners have called for allegations to be re-investigated after the figures were branded "disgusting" and forces were accused of "gaslighting" victims of discrimination.
The families of Sean Rigg and Olaseni Lewis, young black men who died after being detained by police, said the data reveals officers can "act with impunity" with no meaningful oversight.
And Dr Olisa said the figures uncovered by The Mirror should raise alarm bells across British policing.
The Met Police received the highest number of complaints, but dismissed more than 98 per cent of the 1,368 allegations made against its staff.
By comparison Cheshire Police upheld 46.5 per cent of its 43 complaints, while Northamptonshire's figure was 37.5 per cent and in the West Midlands it was 31.7 per cent.
In a statement to The Mirror, the Met Police said: "Where we get it wrong, we fully investigate to determine whether the conduct of officers has breached the standards of professional behaviour.
"If standards are proven to have fallen below what is expected, we take appropriate action and ensure that lessons are learnt from each case."
