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A man would have abandoned his £13,200 successful legal action against a copper who forced his head into a police station counter if he’d simply have said: “Sorry.”

Pictures revealed by the ECHO showed handcuffed Mark Cheesman covered in blood after constable Gregory Hawkswell manhandled him at Birkenhead police station.

Merseyside Police agreed an out-of-court settlement but denied any liability.

PC Hawkswell, who was charged with assault but found not guilty by a jury in criminal proceedings in 2011, claimed he had feared for his safety.

Now, four years on from the incident, Mark revealed he would have shelved his legal battle if PC Hawkswell had apologised for his actions.

Speaking for the first time, he said: “It was a massive over-reaction. At no point was I aggressive. I simply looked at him.

“I don’t think the police are bad people, but they should have apologised straight afterwards. I would have accepted that, and moved on.”

Mark was arrested after leaving a bar in Birkenhead in 2010, when police claimed he was dangerously running between traffic.

But he disputes that, arguing he was simply walking across the road to make a telephone call on his mobile phone.

Mark, 23, at the time of the incident, added: “The arrest was forceful.They took me from behind. I didn’t know it was going to happen. They shoved me to the ground.”

Mark’s lawyers claimed the police officer was only cleared by a jury of unlawful assault in 2011 after his defence team produced an expert witness who argued the cop’s actions were lawful restraint tactics.

And they said it set an alarming precedent for the way Merseyside Police might deal with people arrested in the future.

Lee Massingham, from James Murray Solicitors, in Bootle, said: “The prosecution at the time did not have a rebuttal witness to that evidence, which hugely helped to secure his acquittal. But it’s alarming that this type of force can be used by officers. That’s a serious matter of concern.

“PC Hawkswell’s actions were way over the top. Mr Cheesman was not putting up a struggle. He just glanced at the officer. He was in an environment where he should be protected.”

The clip showed an officer telling Mark, from Tranmere, to stop swearing after protesting that he had ‘done nothing f****** wrong.’

Suddenly, after Mark briefly turns to PC Hawkswell, he is grabbed and his face is forced down onto the desk.

The video later shows the 23-year-old having blood mopped from his face with a tissue, as a sergeant wipes more blood off his counter.

The victim, who was given a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly the next day, needed stitches to wounds on his face.

In defence documents, PC Hawkswell said: “At the custody desk, Cheesman refused to face the custody sergeant, preferring to face myself instead, which I believed to be a threat.

“I attempted to lead Cheesman back to face the sergeant, at which point he became tense and attempted to rear at me. I applied force to the handcuffs and forced him down towards the desk in order to regain control of him.

“I believe that, as a result, Cheesman suffered a cut to his chin from a fixed sign on the custody desk.”

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “We considered this civil action and it was examined by the force’s legal team. We sought appropriate advice and that a settlement amount was negotiated before trial. We remain absolutely committed to the highest integrity and the professional standards of its officers at all times.”