Sex Education star's arrest was not because he was black, watchdog rules
The only description given to the officers was that one suspect was in dark clothing.
CCTV footage showed Richards walking along Fulham Palace Road, near to the collision, when one of the suspects ran past him, chased by an officer.
Richards dropped his backpack and ran, the watchdog said.
An officer then mistook Richards for one of the suspects, stopped the actor and withdrew his Pava spray, a synthetic pepper spray, but did not discharge it, the IOPC said.
Two more officers arrived and told Richards to get to the ground.
There was a 'struggle' and one of the officers Pava-sprayed Richards and he was handcuffed, the IOPC said.
The actor told them he was innocent and his mother later arrived at the scene.
Richards was de-arrested 14 minutes after he was stopped, the IOPC said.
'Treated like a criminal'
The actor said on Instagram after the incident that he was the victim of an 'unlawful arrest'.
He added: 'I was confused, unable to understand why I was suddenly being treated like a criminal. Calmly, I explained that I was a performer returning from a show, but one officer yelled, 'get to the floor or I'll pepper spray you'.
'Moments later, three more officers ran at me. They pepper sprayed me, kicked my legs out from under me, threw me to the ground and handcuffed me.
'In a flash, I was face-down on the pavement with multiple officers holding me down, forcing my head into the ground.
'I was already injured from the show, but having four officers on top of me worsened my injuries to my back, ribs and stomach.'
Owain Richards, the Met Police Commander, said: 'We are pleased the IOPC was able to determine the officers acted in good faith and appropriately.
'This was a fast-moving incident during which they were trying to detain three men who had fled from police during a pursuit. Their use of force was reasonable in the circumstances.
'Mr Richards was swiftly de-arrested as soon as officers confirmed he was not a suspect, but we absolutely acknowledge how distressing it must have been to be caught up in such an incident.
'We would be happy to meet him to discuss what happened should he wish to do so.'
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