British policeman suspended after video shows him kneeling on black man’s neck
- Deputy commissioner expresses ‘great concern’, saying techniques used during arrest are ‘not taught in police training’
- Incident follows worldwide protests over racial injustice in name of US man George Floyd, who died after officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes
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 they had detained who cried out, “Get off my neck!”
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.
“Some of the techniques used cause me great concern – they are not taught in police training,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Steve House said in a statement about the incident.
“The video footage that I have seen today and is circulating on social media is extremely disturbing.”
Reuters was not able to independently verify the video.
The Metropolitan Police referred the incident 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.