Merseyside Police arrest footage reveals 'nothing short of an assault'

Footage appearing to show a police officer kicking a restrained man in the stomach during an arrest has been condemned by an ex-head of Merseyside's Black Police Officers' Association.

The video appears to show Nathan De Asha, owner of the Prophecy Performance Centre gym in Liverpool, being kicked while held for alleged Covid breaches.

Vinny Tomlinson told the BBC it was, in his view, "nothing short of assault".

Merseyside Police said the use of force in the arrest had been "necessary".

The footage, believed to have been captured by the Speke gym's own CCTV system, appears to show Mr De Asha being arrested during a raid on Sunday, when police found more than 50 people inside.

Mr De Asha, who told a closure order hearing at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Wednesday that he and other gym members were "manhandled, mauled and abused" by police, has been approached for comment.

'Angry, sickened and disgusted'

Mr Tomlinson, who resigned as chairman of the force's Black Police Officers' Association in 2010, said the "brutality and the unnecessary use of force" had "absolutely sickened me and I know that it sickened others in the community, both black and white".

"The gentleman in question was handcuffed to the rear [and] posed no threat," he added.

"Officers have to use reasonable force [and] it should be as a last resort... a kick to the guy's stomach was totally unnecessary.

"It's nothing short of an assault."

He said it was "just another example of a black man being brutalised while in the custody of the police", and had left people "angry, sickened and disgusted".

Mr Tomlinson added that he wanted to see Merseyside Police "accept that what actually took place was not acceptable".

"They're forever talking to the black community, trying to reassure us and then we go and see this," he said.

"For the force to not acknowledge it, when we can all see what took place, it undermines what little trust and confidence there is."

Merseyside Police's Deputy Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said her officers were given "extensive training" around the "importance of using force lawfully and proportionately".

"The decision to use force is never taken lightly, and in cases where it is appropriate, officers must often make quick, split-second judgements where there is a risk of harm," she added.

"During this incident, the use of force was judged necessary by officers in response to people's behaviour.

"Officers should not be confronted with abuse and violence when attempting to uphold the law which most people are rightly abiding by."