Brooks v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis

Duwayne Brooks, the respondent, was present when his friend Stephen Lawrence was abused and murdered in a racially motivated attack. Brooks sought damages from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and other police officers, alleging negligence and other causes of action. The central issue before the House of Lords was whether the police owed Brooks a common law duty of care to assess him as a victim of crime, to provide him with protection, assistance, and support as a key eyewitness, and to give reasonable weight to his account. The Lords unanimously allowed the Commissioner's appeal, holding that the police did not owe Brooks such duties. The court reasoned that the core principle of Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, which denies police liability for negligence in investigating crimes, precluded the imposition of these duties. The Lords concluded that imposing such duties would undermine the police's primary function of investigating crime and could lead to a defensive approach in combating crime. The House of Lords affirmed the principle in Hill, rejecting the argument that the police's direct causation of harm to Brooks distinguished this case from Hill. The appeal was allowed, and Brooks' claims in common law negligence were struck out.