British Transport Police are said to be reviewing the arrest of a 16-year-old on the 2nd of May
Following images and video footage going viral on social media,
British Transport Police (BTP) are set to review the arrest of a 16-year-old boy following an incident at London's King Cross station. The teenager was charged with assaulting a girl at Peterborough station before boarding the train and being in possession of drugs.
As you can see in the clips below, the boy is screaming in pain as multiple officers pin him down, going on to pepper spray him and twist his arm and wrist behind his back as he is handcuffed. @lifeofjam_ is pushed as he and another man, who falls to the ground, try to raise concern. One of the officers continually orders him to "get back", before pushing the onlooker again.
https://twitter.com/lifeofjam_/status/1388983824047017995?s=20
According to @lifeofjam_, nobody on the platform was made aware of the reason why the young boy was being arrested and were simply trying to ensure no further harm was caused, as they felt the
police were using excessive force.
Speaking to The Evening Standard, the man said: “I was worried because he was starting to sound in agony, they removed the cuffs because he was complaining of pain and he started crying which they ignored and continued.
“I was a little worried because of how his arm was bending and they were asking him to roll over at one point while one of the officers had their bodyweight all on his legs.
“I felt their actions were over the top. I don’t believe that they helped the situation with brute force. At one point the officer had his knee over the man's crotch.
“He brought out the pepper spray after he pushed a man down who hadn’t moved. I did at one point feel like he was going to pepper spray the vicinity.”
While the manner of the arrest itself is being investigated, a spokesperson for BTP said that the 16-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday on May 4th and was charged with assault, possession of class B controlled drug and breach of bail.
The incident itself occurred on the same day in which an
officer was seen using brute force to punch the legs of a Manchester United fan at the Glazer protests at Old Trafford.
