EXCLUSIVE: UK policeman suspended after video shows him kneeling on neck of imprisoned Black man

London’s police force suspended an officer just yesterday after a video footage emerged showing him knelt on the head and neck of a Black man who was subsequently charged with carrying a knife.

Specifically, the video filmed by an onlooker showed one white police officer appearing to kneel on the side of the detained man’s head and neck, while another officer of east Asian ethnicity helped to restrain the man on the ground.

The white officer stopped kneeling on the suspect after he cried out “Get off my neck”, and the man was later shown sitting up and speaking with the officers while in handcuffs.

“One officer has been suspended and another officer has been removed from operational duty, but not suspended at this time. This decision will be kept under review,” the House commented after the miserable incident.

In this Thursday, July 16, 2020, image taken from video and provided by @RealAiRavish, police appear to kneel on a Black man's neck during an arrest in north London. Image credit RealAiRavish via AP

England’s capital and other major cities have seen large Black Lives Matter protests inspired by concern about racial injustice following the brutal murder of the African American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

“The video footage that I have seen today and is circulating on social media is extremely disturbing,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Steve House declared in a statement. “Some of the techniques used cause me great concern - they are not taught in police training.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan immediately called for a summary and thorough inquiry into what he described as a “distressing” incident.

The Metropolitan Police referred the circumstances of the arrest, which took place on Thursday evening in north London, for investigation by the independent police watchdog for England and Wales.

Demonstrators kneel during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, in London, Britain. Image credit Reuters pic

Late on Friday the Metropolitan Police declared that the 45-year-old man they arrested had been charged by prosecutors with possession of a knife in a public place and would appear in court on Saturday. The man was also wanted for recall to prison for a separate offence, police said.

Knife crime has risen substantially and quite rapidly in Britain in recent years, even as other forms of violence have fallen. The disproportionate amount of violence such as knife crimes take place in London, where 86 people were killed in knife attacks in the year ended in March.