Post by thales on Mar 8, 2007 11:36:36 GMT -1
news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6430000/newsid_6430000/6430071.stm?bw=nb&mp=wm
A police officer shown in leaked CCTV footage punching a woman outside a nightclub has been withdrawn from public duty.
An investigation has begun into the incident, supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
South Yorkshire's Chief Constable, Meredydd Hughes, said Pc Anthony Mulhall had not been suspended.
CCTV footage showed Toni Comer, 20, being forcibly restrained after being ejected from a Sheffield nightclub.
Mr Hughes added: "The officer draws a salary from the public purse and we will make use of his expertise and talent. But I don't want him put in a position where his welfare will be put at risk because he'll be dealing with the public.
"And also I want public confidence restored.
"The public needs to understand that there is more to this story, a full independent investigation must take place in order that the full facts can be placed before the public."
Criminal damage
A complaint of assault will now be investigated by the force, overseen by the IPCC.
The CCTV footage, obtained by the Guardian newspaper and shown on BBC Two's Newsnight, shows Ms Comer and a police officer falling down a flight of stairs outside Sheffield's Niche nightclub.
Police had been called when Ms Comer vandalised a car after being thrown out of the club.
At the bottom of the stairs, she is restrained by officers, with the officer she fell with punching her five times. It is not clear where he punched her.
The footage shows Ms Comer, from Sheffield, writhing around on the ground, which she said was due to an epileptic fit. Police said she was trying to resist arrest.
She is later dragged to a police van with her trousers round her knees.
"I got quite a few cuts and bruises on my arms and my face and the back of my neck," Ms Comer told Newsnight.
"I really don't believe it. I didn't think they would actually do something like that at all."
On Wednesday, at Sheffield Magistrates' Court, Ms Comer admitted criminal damage to a car, which she said happened after she was ejected from the nightclub, where she had been drinking brandy and had become aggressive.
'Dead arm'
She was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 to the vehicle's owner.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "It's a matter of record that the officer involved has fully accepted striking the person in the course of arresting them for an offence for which they were convicted.
"The officer maintains that he did so because the offender was assaulting him."
In a statement, Pc Mulhall said Ms Comer had tried to grab his genitals and knee, and that he had punched her to subdue her and then to "deaden her arm"
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/6429569.stm
A police officer shown in leaked CCTV footage punching a woman outside a nightclub has been withdrawn from public duty.
An investigation has begun into the incident, supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
South Yorkshire's Chief Constable, Meredydd Hughes, said Pc Anthony Mulhall had not been suspended.
CCTV footage showed Toni Comer, 20, being forcibly restrained after being ejected from a Sheffield nightclub.
Mr Hughes added: "The officer draws a salary from the public purse and we will make use of his expertise and talent. But I don't want him put in a position where his welfare will be put at risk because he'll be dealing with the public.
"And also I want public confidence restored.
"The public needs to understand that there is more to this story, a full independent investigation must take place in order that the full facts can be placed before the public."
Criminal damage
A complaint of assault will now be investigated by the force, overseen by the IPCC.
The CCTV footage, obtained by the Guardian newspaper and shown on BBC Two's Newsnight, shows Ms Comer and a police officer falling down a flight of stairs outside Sheffield's Niche nightclub.
Police had been called when Ms Comer vandalised a car after being thrown out of the club.
At the bottom of the stairs, she is restrained by officers, with the officer she fell with punching her five times. It is not clear where he punched her.
The footage shows Ms Comer, from Sheffield, writhing around on the ground, which she said was due to an epileptic fit. Police said she was trying to resist arrest.
She is later dragged to a police van with her trousers round her knees.
"I got quite a few cuts and bruises on my arms and my face and the back of my neck," Ms Comer told Newsnight.
"I really don't believe it. I didn't think they would actually do something like that at all."
On Wednesday, at Sheffield Magistrates' Court, Ms Comer admitted criminal damage to a car, which she said happened after she was ejected from the nightclub, where she had been drinking brandy and had become aggressive.
'Dead arm'
She was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 to the vehicle's owner.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "It's a matter of record that the officer involved has fully accepted striking the person in the course of arresting them for an offence for which they were convicted.
"The officer maintains that he did so because the offender was assaulting him."
In a statement, Pc Mulhall said Ms Comer had tried to grab his genitals and knee, and that he had punched her to subdue her and then to "deaden her arm"
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/6429569.stm
Forever without exception. x
