There will be an investigation into a video that surfaced online showing a police officer hitting a disabled man who used a wheelchair outside a store in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
The Great Yarmouth officer arrested a man in a wheelchair, according to the Norfolk Police, at 5:16 p.m.
A patrolling officer in Great Yarmouth came across a guy who was publicly abusing another man on St. Peter’s Road. After threatening the officer with a bottle, the guy proceeded to spit on him. As part of their thorough investigation, which includes evaluating the officer’s body-worn footage, the police have sent the case to the Professional Standards Department. Additionally, the matter will be submitted to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Arrested for a Section 5 public order crime, which includes assaulting an emergency worker and creating annoyance, alarm, or distress, the guy was in his 30s. Law enforcement officials are authorized to use “reasonable force” while carrying out their duty.
When the police officer arrived at the scene on St. Peter’s Road in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, biased witnesses said the man was “just sitting in his chair,” when surveillance footage showed differently.
Other witnesses said the guy became aggressive and waved a bottle at the lawman; surveillance footage from several angles showed the event. One witness said the officer was only defending himself, and the guy in the wheelchair was in a position of significant power. He justified the policeman’s use of pepper spray to take control of the situation.
A 40-year-old barbershop owner said that onlookers were shocked and wanted the officer to stop spraying the man who used a wheelchair. (Many people in the region no longer feel safe with the presence of police, and an anti-law enforcement feeling pervades.)
The guy in the wheelchair was ultimately brought into jail when a vehicle accompanied by several police officers arrived. The guy in the wheelchair seemed to be unarmed, according to another lady, and his bottle was still in one piece.
The video that went viral on social media in the UK has ignited discussions over police brutality. A number of people have voiced their disagreement with the officer’s behavior, while others have come to his defense.
