Witness says officers who intervened in argument between 20-year-old man and his girlfriend at London Bridge station treated him ‘like a dog’

A young black man says he was left “bruised and shaken” after four police officers pinned him to the ground and placed a hood over his head during an arrest that was caught on camera by witnesses who said he was treated “like a dog”.

IK Aihie, 20, was detained by British Transport police at London Bridge station on 21 July at 11.30pm. Footage filmed by a commuter, shows Aihie screaming as police officers hold him on the ground and later place a spit hood over his head. The hood is a full face covering used by police to prevent a suspect from spitting at arresting officers.

His girlfriend, Jessica McConkey, can be seen in distress in the clip, claiming the couple were having an argument and the police arrested him. McConkey’s mother, Denise, said both her daughter and Aihie were left distressed by the incident. Aihie was held in a cell overnight in Islington and released the next day without charge, she said. McConkey has since complained to the force claiming it used excessive force. Aihie also intends to lodge a complaint himself, the Guardian understands.

British Transport police have claimed Aihie became “aggressive” after police intervened in the argument, and threatened to spit at the officers.



McConkey said: “Both IK and I are law abiding citizens and have the utmost respect for the police force and the work they do. However, in this instance we were treated unfairly and the use of force during IK’s arrest was excessive and unwarranted and I have made a complaint to the British Transport police.”

Aihie told the Guardian: “It was a completely terrifying experience for both of us and I’ve been left bruised and shaken. I’ve never been arrested before and certainly don’t intend to ever again.”



A commuter told the Guardian that she had “never witnessed anything like that before”.

“I was going to take my train to Orpington and on my way to the platform I saw the guy getting arrested,” she said. “They were getting pinned to the wall and he was asking why he was being arrested. He was saying, ‘what are you arresting me for? I want to know’ and they weren’t answering.

“He was clearly upset about being arrested, he was like: ‘Why are you arresting me?’ I want to know.’ He was kind of refusing it. There were a couple of policeman there holding him down and at the same time the girl was beside them and she was telling him to calm down. She was asking everyone to film.

“[Aihie] wanted to know why he was being arrested. None of them were explaining why. That was making him frustrated. He said ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’

“I think they could have explained to him why he was being arrested. The girl was shouting all the time saying: ‘He’s my boyfriend, we were having an argument, he’s being arrested for having an argument with me.’

“I’ve never witnessed anything like that before. I’ve never seen an arrest like that. I didn’t know – is that the usual way you arrest somebody? Putting on the spit hood – what was the reason for that? I didn’t see him spit and I was so close. I can understand it makes a person feel like a dog.”

A British Transport police spokesman said: “We are aware of a video on Facebook of British Transport police (BTP) officers detaining a man at London Bridge station.

“The incident occurred shortly after 11.30pm when officers intervened in an argument between a man and a woman. The man then became aggressive towards the officers, at which point he was arrested.

“Whilst being held, he made a threat that he would spit at officers who then placed a spit guard on him. The man has since accepted a caution for an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

“BTP has since received a complaint from a member of the public in relation to the use of force. This complaint is being investigated by our professional standards department to determine whether the use of force was proportionate and in line with BTP training guidelines.”