A 12-year-old boy was arrested at gunpoint by bungling cops after they mistook his TOY pistol for a real one. Kai Agyepong was led away ...
A 12-year-old boy was arrested at gunpoint by bungling cops after they mistook his TOY pistol for a real one.
Kai Agyepong was led away in handcuffs after up to 25 police officers and sniffer dogs raided their house.
The schoolboy was playing on a laptop while sat on the sofa with his mum Alice when the gun cops stormed in.
Catholic schoolboy Kai Agyepong, pictured left and with his mother Alice (right), was dragged out of his home at night after a passerby saw him playing with a BB gun in his Camden home
Armed police stormed a home in Camden and arrested a 12-year-old boy after a passerby mistook this toy gun for a real weapon. The boy's mother Alice, pictured, has accused the Met of racially profiling her family and the incident has now been reported to the police watchdog
A passer-by claimed he had seen a black male with a gun inside their home and reported it to police.
In fact he had just been playing with a BB pellet gun in the living room.
Scared Kai had red laser guided guns aimed at him as he was nicked and put in a police car outside.
But he was de-arrested after cops realised it was just a fake gun and cops were forced to apologise.
Mum-of-three Alice, of Somers Town, Camden, north London - had fallen asleep - and woke up to see cops holding assault rifles.
'They had visors on and sniffer dogs and there was commotion and barking. Kai was immediately handcuffed.
'My daughter noticed he was so distressed and was saying: 'Kai, calm down.'
'They took him away and I didn't know if he had been taken to a police station.
'It was so surreal - my initial reaction was utter disbelief because I had gone from being asleep on a normal Friday night to having the cavalry dressed at my door with very big guns.
Family say the feared they would be shot after armed officers stormed their home at night
'I went from utter disbelief to trauma because my children were at significant risk of being shot.
'I knew none of us were safe because if they got spooked or felt threatened they're going to shoot us and when one starts shooting they all start.
'They had proper killing machines and they were aiming at us. I looked at the kids and could see the lasers on their bodies.'
Once Kai had been taken away, Alice and her daughter were moved out into the street so cops could search the house.
Alice added: 'When we went outside it was like a scene from Terminator.
'All I saw was flashing lights and so many police vehicles. I felt like the entire police station was there.'
Kai Agyepong with his mother Alice who has described what happened as an 'occupational hazard' for a young black boy
The 42-year-old - who also has two daughters, aged 16 and 23 - added: 'I told them almost straight away that there were no weapons in the house, only a toy gun belonging to my son
She added: 'We were all terrified. It was really humiliating.'
The raid happened last Friday at 11pm.
Shaken Year 7 pupil Kai said: 'When I opened the door they said "Get on the floor and put your hands above your head".
'And then they handcuffed me and put me in the police car.
'The handcuffs really hurt and I asked them to loosen them but they wouldn't and I had marks around my wrists when I took them off.'
He added: 'They arrested me for having a firearm and I told them I don't have a gun and I've never seen a proper gun in real life before.'
His mum continued: 'He's a little boy who was sitting in his own home but he was treated like a criminal.
'He's never been in trouble with the police but he has told me he's been stopped and searched before when outside playing.
'As a young, black boy, it's just an occupational hazard really. We feel utterly violated.'
A Met police spokesman said: 'As is normal protocol in the circumstances, armed police were alerted and subsequently attended the address in Somers Town at around midnight.
'A male in the property was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and taken into a police van outside the house.
'The other residents were escorted out of the property while a search was conducted. In the process of this, officers found an item which was identified as a toy 'bb' gun and not a firearm.'
He added: 'The officers immediately de-arrested the youth and he and the other members of the family returned into their address.
'Following the incident a senior officer from the firearms command contacted the teenager's mother to discuss her concerns.
'Public safety is always a priority for our officers. They face daily challenges making difficult and fast-time decisions while not being in possession of all the information that subsequently transpires.'
The spokesman added: 'The Metropolitan Police Service takes all allegations of racism extremely seriously and is clear it has no place within the organisation.
'Where we need to review or investigate the conduct of individual officers we will do, as we understand this is essential for community confidence around impartiality.'
The case has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
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