LONDON – A London police officer was suspended after video footage appeared showing him kneeling on the head and neck of a black man.
Describing the video as “extremely disturbing,” Deputy Commissioner Steve House of the London Metropolitan Police said in a statement that “some of the techniques used cause me great concern.”
“They are not taught in police training,” he said.
His comments came after images of the incident were posted to social media on Friday, amid mounting scrutiny of police interactions with blacks, following the death of George Floyd under the knees of a Minneapolis police officer. May 25.
Floyd’s death sparked protests around the world and several took place in Britain.
The protests also sparked a broader public conversation about racism and Britain’s colonial past.
At the beginning of the video clip, one of the two officers appears to kneel on the suspect’s neck and has his hand on the man’s head as he lies on the sidewalk.
“Get off my neck, I haven’t done anything wrong, get off my neck,” shouts the suspect.
“You will behave?” one of the officers asks, before telling the man to stay downstairs.
NBC News was unable to independently verify the video footage or what happened before the recording began.
Police said in a statement they were called to a fight in Islington, a neighborhood in the north of England’s capital. The 45-year-old man was arrested at the scene and later charged with possession of a knife in a public place, he added. You must appear in court on Saturday.
House said one of the officers had been suspended and another officer “withdrawn from operational service, but not suspended at this time.”
“This decision will be kept under review,” he added.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for a swift and thorough investigation of what he described as a “distressing” incident.
“It is crucial that our police service continues to gain the trust of the communities it serves,” Khan said on Twitter.
The Metropolitan Police said they had forwarded the circumstances of the arrest, which took place on Thursday night, for investigation to the independent police and watchdog body for England and Wales.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Suzanne Ciechalski contributed
