A man has been charged with assaulting two police officers after video showed one being "karate kicked" to the ground yards from a passing bus.

The female officer was the victim of a flying kick from one of the suspects and sustained head injuries, while a male officer suffered cuts after being dragged around in the road.

It happened after a routine traffic stop on Saturday evening in Merton, southwest London.

Image: An officer was attacked on the ground as cars passed by

The three occupants of the car initially fled but the officers managed to detain a 20-year-old man, before the two other suspects returned and assaulted them.

Video shows the officers being attacked in Kingswood Road as traffic passes in the background.


It shows one suspect in a grey tracksuit taking a run-up as he launches a flying kick to the officer's chest, knocking her to the ground, while another suspect attacks the male officer on the ground.

A member of the public in a motorcycle helmet then runs in to help.

The officers were taken to hospital but later discharged.

Image: The incident happened after a routine traffic stop

Martin Payne, of Brighton Road, south Croydon, is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court.

The other two suspects have not been detained.

Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation Ken Marsh said police could start letting violent suspects go if the risk is too high.

He said: "Are we now in a society where, if we think we can't detain somebody, we just let them go? It's just not worth it.

"We're going to come to a point where we're going to start pushing messages out to our colleagues: 'Risk-assess it dynamically and, if you think you can't detain a person, just let them go.'

"We don't come to work to get assaulted, and if we're not going to be backed up in what we're doing then what is the point?"

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact police at Merton via 101 quoting reference CAD 6952/17Nov.