The moment a police officer hits a mentally ill man in face
SHOCKING images have emerged of two policewomen pinning down a mentally ill man while a male officer punches him in the face.
Mobile phone footage shows the handcuffed man lying on his back on the ground but refusing to let go of the officer’s wrist.
The policeman holds up his left fist in a threatening manner for about ten seconds before he tries to wrench free the man’s fingers. He then suddenly raises his fist and punches him in the face.
The man, who was being detained under the Mental Health Act after acting aggressively towards ambulance staff, then lets go, but when the officers lift him up he struggles to walk and has to be laid down again. The policeman can later be seen rubbing his wrist.
The incident in Yeovil, Somerset, just after 5pm on Wednesday, was filmed by chef Luke Harris, 29. He said: ‘ They were all holding him down and trying to lock the handcuffs and he was holding one of the officer’s wrists.
‘He was saying, “Get off my wrist, I am giving you a warning.” Then he raised his fist and said, “If you don’t get off I will punch you.”
‘There was an intimidation factor but the guy was non-coherent. The guy didn’t let go.
‘He counted to five and then he hit him. The guy was clearly distressed when this officer gave him a crack.’
He added: ‘It was quite upsetting. I was worried about the guy. He needed help, he didn’t need to be wrestled to the ground and assaulted. He needed help.
‘Afterwards he was in a bad way from getting hit. He didn’t really respond, he just rolled over.’
Mr Harris added that the officers repeatedly asked him to stop filming and threatened to seize his phone. Avon and Somerset Constabulary also released footage captured by the officers’ body cameras – which does not show the punch. A spokesman said: ‘ It appeared the man was suffering from a mental health episode, so officers took the decision to detain him. The public rightly expects police officers to use force reasonably so we welcome their scrutiny.
‘ Our Professional Standards Department will now make their own inquiries into this matter.’