Latest news straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A ‘sickened’ eyewitness has told how they filmed a police officer seemingly punching a drugs suspect three times as he lay restrained on the ground.

The concerned member of the public recorded the incident in Gravelly Hill North, Erdington, on June 21 and later passed it to the Birmingham Mail.

In the phone footage, the suspect is being restrained by two officers.

As a plain clothes officer sits astride him, the second uniformed policeman seemingly lands three sharp punches to the prone man.

But West Midlands Police says the video shows ‘‘just a tiny part of our response to the arrest’’ which had involved ‘‘approved restraint techniques’’.

No complaint had been received about the arrest and no investigation had been launched, the force said.

Watch video of police detaining suspect

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

The incident started at around midday on Sunday June 21 when officers spotted the suspect in Cecil Street, Erdington.

Two witnesses say the man ran towards Six Ways and was pursued by two officers. A police car then pulled up and an officer jumped out and tackled the man, bringing him to the ground.

The second uniformed officer then helped restrain the suspect, during which the three punches were seemingly landed - an incident recorded by one of the witnesses.

They said: “I was truly sickened by what I saw and cannot believe that this is the way that members of our police behave.

“I do not have a grievance with the police and have always respected the work that they do.

“I do not know the suspect and do not know why he was being arrested. But he should not have been hit whilst he was down.”

Police are governed by the same laws as members of the public when it comes to the use of ‘reasonable force’. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary published ten key principles about the use of force for all UK forces in 2011. They included:

”Police officers may... use force in the exercise of particular statutory powers, for the prevention of crime or in effecting a lawful arrest. They may also do so in self defence or the defence of others, to stop or prevent an imminent breach of the peace, and to protect property;”

”Police officers shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent methods before resorting to any use of force. They should use force only when other methods have proved ineffective, or when it is honestly and reasonably judged that there is no realistic prospect of achieving the lawful objective identified without force;”

”When force is used it shall be exercised with restraint. It shall be the minimum honestly and reasonably judged to be necessary to attain the lawful objective.”

If officers are deemed to have used excessive force, they can face a disciplinary investigation by their force or even criminal charges.

Sergeant Neil Lloyd, from West Midlands Police, said: “At around midday on Sunday 21 June officers spotted a man they suspected to be dealing drugs in Cecil Road, Erdington.

“The 25-year-old man fled as officers approached and ran into moving traffic. Another passing officer then tackled him to the floor and he was detained in Gravelly Hill North.

“The Sutton Coldfield man resisted arrest and attempted to swallow a package of suspected Class B drugs that he was found to be carrying.

“The suspect also refused to be handcuffed and approved restraint techniques were then used by officers to arrest him – he was taken into custody and released on police bail pending further investigation.

“The short video shows just a tiny part of our response to the arrest which is part of our crackdown on drug use and supply in Birmingham.

“Our officers receive a huge amount of training for these kinds of situations and are shown how to target pressure points in order to bring suspects who are resisting arrest under control.

“To date no complaint has been received by the force regarding the arrest.”

Asked if the video would spark an investigation, the force spokesman added: “There’s no investigation as we haven’t received a complaint and our Professional Standards Department has no misconduct concerns.”