SHOCKING video shows a police officer punch and knee a man to the ground at a caravan park in Lincolnshire.
The video shows two officers trying to arrest a man before the male officer strikes him in the face and knees him in the midriff.
As the man goes down, the same officer delivers another blow to the back of the man’s neck.
Immediately before being hit, the suspect gets his right arm free and half-raises it. Lincolnshire Police have defended the officer’s actions as a “pre-emptive strike”.
The incident happened at the Coral Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire on Monday.
The video shows the man standing in front of the two police officers with his arms raised by his side. The can be heard arguing with the officers saying: “I didn’t f****** touch her, I didn’t f****** grab anyone.”
The man continues to argue with the officers and says “go on then” at which point the officers grab the man and try to detain him.
The man appears to be struggling, and then raises his right arm, at which point the male police officer punches him in the face.
The male officer then knees the man in the abdomen and then punches him on the back of the head before he is brought to the ground.
A woman can be heard saying: “That cop just punched him in the mouth.”
The male officer then says pinning the man to the ground: “Right, you are under arrest.”
While reading out the man’s rights the police officers can be seen holding him on the ground. The male officer pushes the man’s face to the grass, whilst the other officer tries to handcuff him.
The male officer shouts at the man: “Stop resisting then!” The man replies: “I’m not f**** resisting!” the officer again shouts: “Stop resisting now!” The man shouts back: “Will you let me f****** get up!”
The female officer is then seen trying to put handcuffs on the man.
The has been shared across social media with some commenting the officer was well within his rights to use that amount of force.
Craig Bake said: “Good old police tactics.”
Hannah Marie added: “If he stopped struggling and did what he was told he’d have been fine.”
Jonathan Nicholas Conway-Headley wrote: “I see nothing wrong here.”
However, others have suggested the cop was too heavy handed.
Danny Coombes said: “He full on punched him in the face. [They’re] not allowed to do that, if the boot was on the other foot that officer will be getting two weeks off work and getting people to feel sorry for him. System a f****** joke.”
Liam Walter said: “Yup excessive force no doubt.”
Lincolnshire Police told local media they felt the officer was justified in his actions.
Jason Harwin, the Deputy Chief Constable at Lincolnshire Police, said: “On a daily basis officers come across potential violence and they make split-second decisions about how to respond.
“Their training provides the justified response of a pre-emptive strike which can be seen in this video.
“We train our officers during personal safety training to protect themselves and others using lawful reasonable force.”
Police today confirmed the arrested man was bailed.
A spokesman from Lincolnshire Police said: “On Monday, a 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill and common assault in relation to an earlier incident.
“We have been made aware of a video circulating that shows a man being restrained by officers in the Skegness area. The video along with other evidence has been fully reviewed by our Professional Standards Department. We have spoken to the man involved who did not wish to make a complaint.
“Jason Harwin, Deputy Chief Constable, said: “On a daily basis officers come across potential violence and they make split second decisions about how to respond. Their training provides the justified response of a pre-emptive strike which can be seen in this video.”
“The 36-year-old man has been bailed in connection with this incident.”
