The is the dramatic moment a police officer pepper sprays a rail passenger after he resists arrest for refusing to wear a face mask on a train.
The shocking footage shows the clash between the passenger and the lone officer on a Wirral line service at Lime Street Station in Liverpool.
The video shows the officer telling the man to wear a mask, only for the man to counter, saying he does not have to wear a mask as he has a ‘medical condition’.
Passengers on public transport in England are required by law, or face a fine, unless they have a medical condition which prevents them from wearing a mask.
The British Transport Police officer continues to insist the man wear a mask or leave the train, but the man refuses.
He says: ‘You’re not allowed to touch me by law. I do not have to wear a mask, end of, and you do not have to challenge me. It’s against the law to challenge me.’
The shocking footage shows the clash between the passenger and the lone officer on a Wirral line service at Lime Street Station in Liverpool
As the officer takes hold of the passenger’s arm, the man resists fiercely and shouts: ‘Yo, who the f*** do you think you’re grabbing?’
The officer gives the man his final warning before telling him: ‘You’re getting off.’
He takes hold of the passenger’s arm, the man resists fiercely and shouts: ‘Yo, who the f*** do you think you’re grabbing?’
The officer tries to remove him by force but the man refuses to budge and blasts: ‘I’ve told you no. Now get off me.’ To which the officer replies: ‘Off the train, or I’ll get you locked up.’
He wrestles with the officer – who threatens to pepper spray him – as fellow passengers protest: ‘He’s done nothing wrong. Medical condition.’
The officer then attempts to spray the unruly passenger – who desperately shields his face – but is unable to get a clear shot and urgently calls for backup on his radio.
The passenger continues to resist arrest and shoves the officer back, shouting: ‘I’ve already told you why I don’t have to f****** wear one. Now f*** off.’
As more officers rush to help, the man’s friends accuse the officer of abusing his power and call him a ‘bully’.
Undeterred, he manages to cuff one of the suspect’s wrists and pepper sprays him.
In the ensuing struggle, the man’s shirt comes off.
When backup finally arrives, several officers are seen struggling to get the man in handcuffs, as he screams: ‘This is the reason why I don’t wear my mask.’
He is finally subdued and led off the train, as other passengers – furious at his removal – demand to know the name of the arresting officer.
British Transport Police has been approached for comment.
During the scuffle the man takes off his shirt. Other officers are seen rushing to the scene to help the lone British Transport Police officer
Later in the video, the man is seen being arrested to and spoken to by police officers
The latest incident involving face masks on public transport comes after police this week removed a ‘disruptive’ passenger from an easyJet flight after he refused to wear a face mask.
Social media footage shows three officers boarding the easyJet flight after it arrived at Glasgow International Airport from Luton.
One officer is seen to approach a row of seated passengers before saying: ‘Hi folks, are you ready to go?’
The officer then asks the passenger to grab their bags before a man, seen wearing a blue face mask, then walks to the front of the plane.
The footage then shows a woman being show off the plane with the officers following.
EasyJet said the man had refused to wear a face mask and had been ‘disruptive’.
Meanwhile, Police Scotland say the man has been given a recorded warning.
The officer then asks the passenger to grab their bags before a man, seen wearing a blue face mask, then walks to the front of the plane
The incident comes days after a suspected Covid-infected passenger was dragged off a plane by Hazmat-suited medics.
The passenger showed ‘no symptoms’ and received a text only seconds before take-off ‘saying he was positive’, a fellow flyer has claimed.
The Ryanair flight was allowed to make its journey from Stansted to Italy after the dramatic incident, which saw no other travellers asked to self-isolate on arrival, according to Fionn Murphy, from west London.
The 21-year-old, who spoke previously of his shock that he was able to complete the trip to Pisa, where he could be unknowingly walking around with coronavirus.
The passenger revealed how the plane was seconds from take off after reversing, ready to taxi to the runway before the dramatic intervention.
He told the Sun: ‘The doors were shut, we were ready to fly… it was literally last minute.’
Hazmat-clad officials boarded a plane in London Stansted after a passenger received a text from track-and-trace minutes before take off. The flight was bound for Pisa
‘I got up and walked towards the back of the plane to grab one of the empty seats back there and the air hostess told me to sit down as we were just about to take off. And then everything stopped.’
‘At first I thought it may have been because of the result of a temperature check, but I didn’t remember there being any.’
The allegedly infected person and his travel companion were taken off the aircraft and moved to the airport’s isolation area, where they were met by health authorities.
Their seats and the overhead cabin were disinfected before the plane was allowed to fly to Pisa an hour and 40 minutes behind schedule, according to Flight Radar.
The passenger, who has not been named, breached coronavirus quarantine restrictions by leaving their home and boarding the flight.
Last month a fight broke out on a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Ibiza after two passengers refused to wear face masks.