This is the moment a police officer was caught on camera appearing to deliberately knee a suspect in the head as fellow officers pinned him to the ground.
Steven Walker, 29, was on his way home from work last Thursday when police showed up at a suspected armed robbery at a local shop in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
The ‘shocked’ father-of-two quickly got out his phone and began recording after approximately six officers arrived on scene to apprehend the three men.
As the struggling suspects screams and cries in pain while shouting that they were ‘snapping his arm’, one of the cops holding him down appears to throw at least five deliberate knees to either his head or back
Footage shows a police car come to a skidding halt to join two vans, as three officers try to hold down one suspect, while the other two men each lay on the floor supervised by cops.
As the struggling suspects screams and cries in pain while shouting that they were ‘snapping his arm’, one of the cops holding him down appears to throw at least five deliberate knees to either his head or back.
The building engineer has slammed the police and shared the footage online in a bid to highlight what he calls ‘police brutality’.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed they were aware of the video circulating on social media however said they were yet to receive a formal complaint.
Mr Walker, from Bolton, said: ‘It’s shocking. It’s police brutality.
‘One of the lads was covered in blood and the three lads were initially apprehended but that force was just excessive.
‘When that other officer started kneeing him in the head I just couldn’t believe it.
‘The guy on the floor was shouting things like ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’.
‘Now, I know the police have a job to do and people can get a bit ‘pasty’, but punching someone and kneeing them five times is just mad.
Footage shows a police car come to a skidding halt to join two vans, as three officers try to hold down one suspect, while the other two men each lay on the floor supervised by cops
The mobile phone footage shows a team of approximately six officers restraining three men however Steven estimates around 10 police were on scene by the end of the incident
In the video the police officer appears to demand the onlookers move along, however Mr Walker keeps filming
‘Six officers were on three lads – that’s clearly excessive.
‘I think he was trying to make him turn over but I would say that it was excessive.’
The mobile phone footage shows a team of approximately six officers restraining three men however Mr Walker estimates around 10 police were on scene by the end of the incident.
He believes the police were responding to a call that three men had threatened a shop keeper with a hammer.
Throughout the video, one of the suspects is howling in supposed pain and begging the officers to let go of his arm.
Steven Walker, 29, was on his way home from work last Thursday when police showed up at a suspected armed robbery at a local shop in Bolton, Greater Manchester
Mr Walker said: ‘The lad on the floor was just screaming and crying. I started filming after he’d been punched so I don’t have that on film.
‘One of the officers punched the lad after the three were apprehended.
‘I think it was just excessive use of force by the police. I don’t know if he was trying to turn him round to get the cuffs on him or what.
‘He punched him just before the video started. That’s the reason I started filming actually.
‘One woman who was there said she couldn’t believe it. She said ‘you do know this is being recorded on camera?”
In the video the police officer appears to demand the onlookers move along, however Mr Walker keeps filming.
Instead, he posted the video on social media and the video quickly racked up almost 20,000 views.
Mr Walker said: ‘One or two people thought the police should have been doing this, others thought they shouldn’t.’
Adam Alwill wrote: ‘Bit excessive. Must be a slow night for the boys in blue.’
Wayne Elkin-Walker wrote: ‘I’m not sure kicking to the head is justified.’
A GMP spokesperson said: ‘We have been made aware of a video circulating on social media and are currently reviewing the footage, while also speaking to response officers who attended the incident to get a full picture of the circumstances.
‘We are currently not aware of a formal complaint but will continue to monitor this.’