Officials To Review Footage Of Man Arrested On Eastbourne Bus

Monday, 18 July 2022 06:48

By Jade McLean

The Professional Standards Dept for Sussex Police is reviewing footage taken of an arrest on an Eastbourne bus of a man abusing passengers and staff.

Footage of an area of the lower deck appears to have been taken by a passenger from the top of the stairs.

Two white officers stand by a black man, who says, "Why are you always f****** victimising me?"

They then get him onto the floor and hold him down with his hands behind his back.

The man shouts several times, "You're hurting my head!" after which the officer punches him in the head and says, "Stop pinching me".

Following around 30 seconds on the floor, the officers pick him up and remove him from the bus.

The video has been widely shared on social media.

Sussex Police have released the following statement regarding the arrest:

We are aware of a video which shows an interaction between police officers and a detained man on a bus in Eastbourne.

At about 9.40pm on July 16, we received a report about an abusive passenger on a bus who refused to pay a fare or to leave the bus.

When officers arrived, the man continued to be abusive towards other passengers and officers. He was detained and restrained inside the bus and was warned by officers about assaulting them.

He was removed from the bus and has been charged with assaulting a policer officer and with using threatening or abusive behaviour which could cause harassment, alarm, or distress.

Our Professional Standards Department are actively reviewing the actions taken by officers, including footage of the incident as well as bodyworn video recorded by officers.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has relevant footage can report it to Sussex Police quoting serial 1538 of 16/07.