A senior police officer is under investigation for misconduct after a force drone hit and injured a child.
Kent Police said officers were called to reports of an assault in progress on the Isle of Sheppey just after 4pm on Saturday 2 August.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: “As part of efforts to search the area for the suspect, a force drone was deployed. While in operation it struck an overhead cable and fell to the ground, hitting a child and injuring their hand. They were treated for injuries at a London hospital.”
The force made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who are now carrying out an independent investigation into the circumstances.
In a statement, the IOPC said: "We can confirm we are independently investigating an incident where a child was hurt by a drone which crashed while being flown by Kent Police".
They added: "As part of the ongoing investigation we have served a misconduct notice on a special inspector. The serving of a notice does not necessarily mean disciplinary proceedings will follow."
Neither the police or the IOPC disclosed the age of the child due to the ongoing investigation.
The details on the incident were tracked down by Ian Hudson, a drone commentator and analyst, who spent months chasing the force with Freedom of Information requests to find out what had happened.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it was conducting a safety investigation. They told the BBC the drone was a UAS DJI M30T model - a high-performance drone weighing about 4kg (9lb) and designed for professional use.
A review in early 2023 found that UK police forces are currently using a total of nearly 400 drones, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
