Probe into boy’s arrest
POLICE are conducting an internal review following an eruption of anger on a street where mobile phone footage appears to capture an officer aiming a punch at a boy of 15.
In all police arrested five boys, aged between 13 and 15, amid a tense stand-off with residents. It followed reports of anti-social behaviour on Briarfield Road in Burnage last week when a brick was said to have been thrown at a car. Mobile phone footage shared on social media and with the M.E.N. captured much of the drama, including the arrest of a boy of 15 who was forced onto the ground by officers.
One clip appears to show an officer aiming a downward punch towards the boy before the teen is handcuffed and his legs are bound. It’s not clear if the blow struck the boy, who is then captured screaming and struggling as he is carried into a waiting police van. He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting emergency service workers and later released under investigation.
Pictures taken later in hospital show the boy, who the M.E.N. is not naming, with cuts and grazes to his back, arm and head.
His mother, 35, a florist, told the M.E.N. her son has been diagnosed with ADHD and had never been arrested before. She has lodged a formal complaint alleging her son was attacked by police.
She said: “I’m absolutely disgusted. We put our trust in these people and these are the people we pay our taxes for. Not only have they physically assaulted him, but afterwards I could not locate him. They wouldn’t tell me where he was taken. It was totally unnecessary force.”
She said her son was arrested on suspicion of the assault without injury of three police officers. Police have confirmed a youth was arrested on suspicion of assaulting emergency workers. The mum said her son’s confrontation with the law started when he challenged officers as they were arresting another boy.
Footage captures officers pinning her son onto the pavement beside a parked car after he reacts furiously to the arrest of the other youth. He can be heard screaming and pleading with the officers to ‘get off me.’
Two officers can be seen holding the boy’s head to the ground as other officers apply leg restraints. He can heard calling one of the officers a ‘f***ing muppet’ before screaming for the cops to ‘get off my head!’
He appears to begin crying and shouts ‘someone call my mum.’
The teenager continues to scream and swear at the officers as he urges them to ‘get off my head.’ As he urges cops to ‘get off my face,’ one officer tells him: “We’ll sort you out and sit you up but we need you to stay calm. Are you listening to me? Are you listening?”
The boy then sobs before he is lifted to his feet to be carried away,
screaming and struggling against the officers. It takes four officers to lead him away but as he continues to struggle and scream, he falls to the floor and he has to be lifted a second time to be led to the waiting van.
Footage also captures the moment cops pounce on another youth trying to run away, as his mother videos the incident. When she tells officers her son had ‘done nothing wrong,’ one cop confronts her and tells her: “You should be ashamed of yourself... Take some responsibility... You’re embarrassing!”
The mother can he heard shouting ‘bunch of f***ing bullies’ as her son is led away by the officers.
The M.E.N. tracked down the mother, who declined to be named. The 36-year-old mother-of-seven,
who is training to be a nurse, said: “It went from zero to this in seconds.” She said she had also made a formal complaint to police.
She said that after his release, she took her son to Manchester Royal Infirmary where she took pictures of his injuries and shared them with the M.E.N.
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed it has launched an internal review into the incident on Tuesday evening, May 7, including examination of police body-cam and other footage.
A force spokesperson said: “We’re aware of clips on social media that show officers responding to reports of anti-social behaviour and bricks being aimed at a car in the Burnage area of Manchester on Tuesday evening. Officers were confronted with a challenging situation – which included one officer being racially abused and another being targeted with an attempted headbutt.
“Five arrests were made of boys aged between 13 and 15 on suspicion of criminal damage.
“We understand the concerns that have been raised and we are keen to ensure the public hold us to account. We have received a complaint and our Professional Standards Directorate is assessing the incident – which includes reviewing all bodyworn video and other available footage.”
The spokesperson confirmed the boy who was allegedly punched was arrested for three alleged assaults of emergency workers.