Passersby could be seen posing for selfies as two officers were allegedly assaulted while trying to speak to a suspect in Hackney.
As a crowd gathered around one of the officers, a second man could be seen arriving with a baseball bat. Shortly after, footage shared online appeared to show the officer being punched in the head.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has condemned the attack, describing it as: ‘Sickening, shocking & disgraceful. My thoughts are with the outstanding officers who were subject to this disgusting violent attack.’
Hackney’s own borough commander, Marcus Barnett, said: ‘This is truly despicable & society should never accept such behaviour – we are here to protect you! The officers are safe, but clearly shaken & incredibly brave too. Arrests will be made… this must stop.’
Two men are in custody at an East London police station tonight following the incident, with both officers suffering minor injuries. Neither required hospital treatment.
The officer falls to the ground after wrapping his arm around another man’s neck and trying to throw him to the ground
Passersby gathered around the officer, while his wrist was pinned down as held on to a pair of handcuffs
Two officers were responding to an assault just after 3.30pm today after they were flagged down by a member of the public. According to Met Police, the victim pointed out their attacker and officers went to speak to those involved.
A Met Police spokesman said: ‘As an officer attempted to speak with those involved, one of the men resisted and a struggle ensued. A number of other people became involved whilst the officer was on the ground.’
Footage shared online shows a uniformed officer with his arm around a suspect’s neck.
He appears to try and throw the suspect to the ground, but instead they both end up on their backs.
As the officer calls for backup, the man he was trying to detain repeatedly shouts ‘Leave me the f****** alone,’ while holding one of the officer’s wrists.
One man charged toward the altercation in Hackney, East London, carrying a baseball bat. Moments later the officer was punched in the back of the head
As the officer gets to his knees, one of the crowd appears to place him in a headlock, while a second officer at the scene tries to intervene
Four people, two on bikes, quickly crowd around the altercation. Two more men arrive, one carrying a baseball bat.
Seconds later, a punch appears to land on the back of the officer’s head, who is still on the floor.
As one member of the crowd leans over to shout at the officer, his colleague arrives at the scene and screams at the crowd to ‘get back’.
When she attempts to push the crowd away, they grab at her arms and begin to shout at her.
One of the crowd then dances in front of the altercation, while appearing to take a selfie.
Chief Supt Roy Smith tweeted this evening: ‘I can confirm colleagues are aware of this horrific attack on our officers simply doing their job to protect Londoners.’
Both officers suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment. Two men, aged 20 and 38, were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
With two officers at the scene, one member of the crowd dances as he takes a selfie of the scene, which was described by one officer as an ‘horrific attack’
Home Secretary Priti Patel described the footage from Hackney this afternoon as ‘Sickening, shocking and disgraceful’. Footage from East London appeared to show an officer being punched in the head as he wrestled a suspect to the ground
Both men remain in custody at an East London police station.
Superintendent Martin Rolston, from the Central East Command Unit, said: ‘This incident, which was captured on someone’s mobile phone is truly shocking.
‘My officers went to the assistance of a member of the public – who asked for their help – after stating that they had been assaulted. What happened next is a reminder of the risks our officers take whilst going about their duties.
‘It is fortunate that their injuries are not more serious. There is no place for this level of violence on our streets.
‘We are engaging with our community partners to discuss what happened and I hope that anyone who witnessed what happened comes forward and speaks with us.’
Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference Cad 4315/10Jun.
Footage of the altercation follows other clashes with police on the streets of London in recent days.
On Sunday