Social media users criticized the mother in a video showing her yelling while being handcuffed and held by two police officers.
The Met reported that after it was established that she had purchased her ticket, she was later let go.
The event was “a snapshot of a larger incident,” the force stated.
Additionally, it said that “our communications may have been a little bit better” and that it was attempting to “find the lady involved and get her side of the story.”
“Trust has taken a hit,” Met Ch Supt Andy Brittain, who oversees Croydon, said.
On Friday morning, the incident occurred as the police officers and TfL inspectors were working together on Whitehorse Road in Croydon.
The woman was allegedly “racially profiled and verbally abused by an officer,” according to the complaint the police watchdog says it received on Monday afternoon from the Met.
The Met reported that the woman got off the bus after refusing to check her fare with a revenue inspector.
The cops ordered her to halt, but when she tried to leave they say she became “abusive” and tried to walk away.
She was allegedly detained after being suspected of fare evasion, according to the police.
In the video, she continually begs one of the policemen to release her while claiming, “I haven’t done anything wrong,” as a bystander records the incident and queries the reason behind the arrest.
Eventually, the police checked her ticket, which was valid. Then she was freed from her handcuffs.
As the woman’s son was “very traumatized by the situation,” Vauxhall Labour MP Florence Eshalomi advised people to be caution while spreading the footage, adding that she and other colleagues have brought it up with the mayor of London.
The Met initially stated that it was a “distressing video to watch, even more so as a child is seen to be visibly upset by the way in which his mother has been apprehended”.
“We apologize for the distress this has caused the child.”
The incident also prompted “questions about the extent to which officers are having to intervene in this way when supporting TfL in their operations,” according to the statement.
Then, arguably, our communications could have been a little bit better, and it kind of snowballed into a significant community concern.
“Today, for me, it’s about listening to the people, comprehending their viewpoint, and learning what it appeared to them.
“And I think the big thing as well is to try and find the lady involved and to get her side of the story.
“Trust has taken a hit as a result of the video, so it’s really important we understand what took place.”
He added: “I’m a parent like everyone else and to see a child in that much distress is really upsetting.
“We’ve paused any operations of that nature to give us time to work out what happened.”
The force has said officers’ body worn video, which was active for a longer period than the social media clip, had been reviewed.
Despite not initially identifying any “conduct matters” the Met said it had voluntarily referred itself to the IOPC due to grave public concern.
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