A POLICE officer who was filmed allegedly kneeling on a man’s head has been interviewed on suspicion of assault.
Essex Police referred themselves to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) following a video surfacing on social media appearing to show an officer kneeling on a man’s neck or head.
A man was arrested during the incident in Westcliff on suspicion of various offences, and has since been released under investigation.
The incident happened in March this year, and now, five months later following the referral, the IOPC said it has completed its investigation.
A spokesman for the office said: “All investigative lines of enquiry are now complete and we are finalising our report and findings.
“During our investigation the officer was interviewed under criminal caution on suspicion of common assault.
“On conclusion of our report and findings we will decide whether the matter meets the threshold for a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a charging decision.
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“We will also share our report with Essex Police.
“We will look to publish the findings from our investigations in due course.”
The IOPC would not specifically say when the report is likely to be published.
The video, which was shared widely on social media, appeared to show a man already handcuffed being restrained against a car.
He appeared to lunge at an officer before being bundled to the floor and the officer allegedly knelt on his neck or head.
The incident happened at around 5.40pm on March 20, during which police say they attended following a crash, where a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and using threatening or abusive words.
Essex Police at the time said that the officer was placed on restricted duties, which was “standard procedure” in those circumstances.
The force added that it has “rigorous oversight” of the user of force by officers to ensure it is “appropriate”.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: “There is an ongoing investigation by the IOPC and due to that we are unable to comment.”
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