New footage (scroll down) has been shared on social media, which appears to show the moments leading up to an arrest that would result in a police officer being suspended from frontline duties.
A partially edited clip of the arrest was widely shared by many sections of the mainstream media, which showed a police officer detaining a male.
However, the footage of what had happened before the arrest has not been included in many of the articles which have been written about the event.
In the edited footage that has been shared by many sections of the mainstream media, a police officer can be seen grappling with a male who appears to be resisting arrest.
The edited footage shows the officer grab a male and wrestle him to the ground.
The officer can be heard to say ‘chill out or I’ll choke you out’.
But now the entire clip of the incident, including what led to the arrest, has been shared on social media by a page called ‘YappApp’.
The full clip gives a much better understanding concerning why the officer used what appears to be reasonable force to detain the male.
At the beginning of the full video clip, the male who ends up being arrested can be seen to have an exchange of words with another male whilst walking away from a marked police van.
Without warning, the male who was later arrested can be seen to land a full-on punch to the left side of the victims head.
The hard punch causes the victim to take a step back owing to the force with which he has been struck.
After landing the first blow, his victim walks away, without retaliating, and the suspect walks towards him.
The next part of the clip shows a police officer trying to detain the male suspect.
The suspect, who has a large muscular build, seems to appear to not comply with the police officer as he tries to place him under arrest.
The next part of the video is the selected part of the clip that appears to have been shared by the mainstream media, omitting the act of serious violence that led up to the suspect’s arrest.
The footage comes at a time when the Police Federation of England & Wales has called upon senior officers to be more forthcoming in releasing body-worn camera footage of incidents as more and more officers face ‘trial by social media’.
As appears to be the case here, some sections of the mainstream media are quick to share footage of officers having to detain violent suspects, without showing what happened immediately before an arrest.
Before the full clip was shared on social media, Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Osman Khan of West Yorkshire Police said:
“We are aware of a video circulating showing the arrest of a man at Spring Hall Gardens, Halifax on Sunday 16th August concerning assault offences.
“We immediately reviewed the footage and looked into it as a matter of urgency to establish the full circumstances.
“We have reviewed the actions of the officers involved and a referral has been made to the Force’s Professional Standards Directorate.
“Our investigation remains ongoing and we have made a voluntarily referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). The officer involved has been removed from frontline operational duties.
“The man arrested was released under investigation.”
The officer is currently suspended from the force.
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