This is the dramatic moment a Metropolitan Police Officer repeatedly punches a hooded man in the face as they responded to reports of a person carrying a machete.
What happened
In a video shared on social media, two officers are seen handling a man wearing a grey hoodie on Fulham Palace Road in Hammersmith, West London.
While one holds the man around his waist the other officer is seen repeatedly punching him in the face until he falls to the ground and is pinned down.
In the footage, members of the public filming the incident could be heard begging the officers to stop while two other men approach before being told to ‘move back, move back’.
The force said the video was just ‘a small snapshot of a wider incident that officers dealt with’ before adding the officers full body worn video will be reviewed by the Professional Standards Unit.
Arrest
It added that a man was arrested following reports of him carrying a machete, but after being detained and searched no weapon was found on him.
He was then allowed to go on his way.While carrying out the search, a different man intervened and obstructed officers from finishing their duties, the force said.
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This man was then arrested for obstructing a search and was taken to police custody where he remains.
Only one of the men arrested is shown in the video footage.
After the man in the video falls to the ground, one of the officers sits on him while the other handcuffs his hands behind his back.
Seconds later a police van arrives and two other officers jump out of the vehicle, appearing to walk over to someone else in the crowd.
Detective Chief Inspector Scott Ware, from the Central West Basic Command Unit, which covers Hammersmith said: ‘The video is a small snapshot of a wider incident that the officers dealt with and we understand that people viewing this footage in isolation may be concerned by the actions of police.
‘I can reassure people that the entire incident, including the officers’ body worn video, will be reviewed by our Professionals Standards Unit and should any learning or misconduct be identified then it will be dealt with through the appropriate channels.’
