A POLICE watchdog has said the force were justified in sending armed cops to a 999 call where a woman claimed a man had threatened her with a gun.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner verdict comes after their investigation into the incident on April 15. Their report revealed that the woman rang the emergency number to say the man had held a gun to her head. But police answering the call failed to pass on that she had later referred to the weapon as a ‘water pistol’.

As a result, armed cops were sent to the unknown city location and several people were removed from the flat in the Glasgow area at gunpoint. A man was also arrested.

During the first call to 999, the woman said a man had threatened her with a handgun, which she said contained two bullets. The call was disconnected and when a police officer in the Area Control Room (ACR) called the woman back, she said she had had a disagreement with a man visiting her neighbour and he had pointed a handgun at her head. She described the ‘gun’ as a black revolver containing silver bullets and added that the man had gone into her neighbour’s flat.

Five minutes later, the police received a 999 call from the neighbour, who reported a disturbance outside the flat involving the woman. The ACR linked this incident to the firearms incident and armed cops were asked to contact those in the flat and trace the man who had allegedly pointed the gun at the woman.

It was later suspected that the woman had made a false report of being threatened with a gun. She was charged with this and other offences, She was later convicted of assault and vandalism offences. The man arrested from the flat was released from police custody without charge.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner found the use of firearms officers was justified.

The watchdog, however, also discovered that when the police called the woman back, they failed to record that she also referred to the gun as a ‘water pistol’. The report also found that the Initial Tactical Firearms Commander was not told about several incidents involving the woman at the scene earlier that morning, including an allegation of assault, for which she had been arrested some three hours earlier

It was recommended that Police Scotland put systems in place to ensure that Initial Tactical Firearms Commander are given all the relevant facts when dealing with firearms. Officers involved in such operations should also be reminded to record all relevant information, justifying the use of firearms. The reasons for discounting any information should also be recorded.