The Metropolitan police suspended an officer on Friday after a video went viral appearing to show him kneeling on the head and neck of a Black man who was subsequently charged with carrying a knife.
In one clip, the suspect, who is handcuffed and on the ground, can be seen shouting, “Get off my neck.” The Metropolitan police said the video was “extremely disturbing” and that they had suspended one officer and removed another from operational duty.
The case against them has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which will decide whether the case merits further investigation.
The IOPC, the professional body which sets standards for policing in the UK, has been adamant that officers are not supposed to apply pressure to the neck area except in exceptional circumstances.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who has oversight of the Met, said he was “deeply concerned about this distressing incident”, which unfolded at 6.30pm on Thursday on Isledon Road, near Finsbury Park underground station, in north London.
The video shows the suspect, Marcus Coutain, in a green T-shirt handcuffed and on the ground with two officers also present, seemingly trying to gain further control of him with one officer appearing to have his knee on the suspect’s neck for several seconds.
Coutain, 45, charged with possession of a knife in a public place will appear at Highbury Corner magistrates court on Saturday.
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