London’s police force suspended an officer on Friday after video footage emerged of him appearing to kneel on the head and neck of a Black man who was subsequently charged with carrying a knife.
Britain’s capital and other major cities have seen large Black Lives Matter protests inspired by concern about racial injustice following the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
“The video footage that I have seen today and is circulating on social media is extremely disturbing,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Steve House said in a statement, Reuters reported.
“Some of the techniques used cause me great concern - they are not taught in police training.”
The Metropolitan Police referred the circumstances of the arrest, which took place on Thursday evening in north London, for investigation by the independent police watchdog for England and Wales.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for a swift and thorough inquiry into what he described as a “distressing” incident.
Late on Friday the Metropolitan Police said the 45-year-old man they arrested had been charged by prosecutors with possession of a knife in a public place, and would appear in court on Saturday. The man was also wanted for recall to prison for a separate offence, police added.
Knife crime has risen rapidly in the UK in recent years, even as other violence has fallen, and a disproportionate amount takes place in London, where 86 people were killed in knife attacks in the year ended in March.
