Sussex Police probe into officer 'kicking suspect' film

A video which appears to show an officer kicking a man who had been shot with a stun gun is being investigated.

The footage, which was passed to Sussex Police by The Argus newspaper, was taken during an incident in Western Road, Brighton, on Friday.

It appears to show an officer kicking a man in the leg after he had been shot with a stun gun.

The force said its Professional Standards Department would examine the film but no complaint had been made.

The newspaper reported the footage was shot by a member of the public.

'Welfare checks'

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "At 6.18pm on Friday 5 July we received a report that a member of staff at Sainsbury's, Western Road, Brighton, had been pushed to the ground by a man who was attempting to steal food and drink from the store.

"Local officers traced the man to the seafront nearby and at at 6.33pm they confirmed that it had been necessary to Taser him in order to carry out a safe arrest.

"The man was arrested on suspicion of theft and obstructing police, and received health and welfare checks to ensure that he was unharmed."

He said he was later released on police bail until 26 July while inquiries continued into the alleged offences.

He added: "We have received no complaint from the man about the actions of the officers and the video has only just been drawn to our attention at midday today [8 July].

"It has now been referred to our Professional Standards Department who will examine it thoroughly, along with the full facts surrounding the incident, including what occurred before the actions shown in the video."