Shocking scenes as passersby attack policeman and pose for selfies next to him as he wrestles with suspect in London street
- Police officer and suspect wrestle on the ground as passersby pose for a selfie
- Man arrives with baseball bat before officer appeared to be punched in the head
- Chief Superintendent Roy Smith described it as an ‘horrific attack on officers’
Shocking footage appears to show a police officer being punched in the head as he wrestles a suspect to the ground in East London this afternoon.
Passersby could be seen posing for selfies as the officer and suspect rolled around on the pavement in Hackney.
As the suspect shouts, a group begins to gather and film, before another man arrives carrying a baseball bat.
Shortly after, footage shared online appeared to show the officer being punched in the head.
Home Secretary Priti Patel described the footage from Hackney this afternoon as ‘Sickening, shocking and disgraceful’. Footage from East London appeared to show an officer being punched in the head as he wrestled a suspect to the ground
The officer falls to the ground after wrapping his arm around another man’s neck and trying to throw him to the ground
Passersby gather around the officer, whose wrist is being held down as he holds a pair of handcuffs
Home Secretary Priti Patel has condemned the attack, describing it as: ‘Sickening, shocking & disgraceful. My thoughts are with the outstanding officers who were subject to this disgusting violent attack.’
The first video shared online shows a uniformed officer with his arm around a suspect’s neck.
He appears to try and throw the suspect to the ground, but instead they both end up on their backs.
As the officer calls for backup, the man he was trying to detain repeatedly shouts ‘Leave me the f****** alone,’ while holding one of the officer’s hands.
Four people, two on bikes, quickly crowd around the altercation. Two more men arrive, one carrying a baseball bat.
Seconds later, a punch appears to land on the back of the officer’s head, who is still on the floor.
As one member of the crowd leans over to shout at the officer, a second police officer arrives at the scene and screams at the crowd to ‘get back’.
When she attempts to push a member of the crowd away, he grabs the officer’s arms.
One of the crowd then dances in front of the altercation, while appearing to take a selfie.
Chief Supt Roy Smith tweeted this evening: ‘I can confirm colleagues are aware of this horrific attack on our officers simply doing their job to protect Londoners.’