‘He’s trying to break my arm’: Screaming man is pinned to the floor by police officers as he is arrested after refusing to wear a mask in chaotic scenes at train station
- Footage shows at least five officers attempting to detain an unidentified man
- The incident was recorded amid chaotic scenes at a Birmingham train station
- Camera also captures a woman who is being removed from the station
A screaming man was pinned to the floor as he was arrested for refusing to wear a mask in a train station and becoming ‘aggressive’ with police who told him to wear a face covering.
Footage shows at least five officers attempting to detain the unidentified maskless man at Birmingham New Street station at around 8.30pm on March 12.
During one clip, uploaded to social media, a crowd gathers around the man as two officers are pinning him to the ground. The man, who appears distressed, repeatedly shouts: ‘He’s trying to break my arm!’
British Transport Police told MailOnline officers had asked a man and a woman at the station to put on a face covering, but they refused to do so.
They were directed to leave for not complying with Covid legislation, but the male refused and ‘became aggressive, slapping the officer on the arm and pushing him in the chest’, police said.
The man was arrested for assaulting a police officer and the female was arrested for obstructing police. Both were taken to custody and have since been released on conditional bail.
The BTP spokesman said: ‘A senior officer has reviewed the footage of the arrest and is satisfied the officers acted appropriately in challenging circumstances.’
The man can be seen lying on the ground while an officer sits on top of him, pinning him down
Another video captures an unknown woman who is being removed from the station by a female officer and her colleague.
The woman shouts ‘get off me’ and shoves the officer away, to which the officer replies ‘if you stand still, I won’t touch you’.
The angered woman shouts ‘shut up!’ at the officer – who repeats the phrase back to the woman.
Meanwhile, in the background, the man can be seen lying on the ground while an officer sits on top of him, pinning him down.
The man tells the officer, ‘Get him off me!’ while the woman hovers around the scene, insisting the officers back away.
In another video taken by a witness, members of the public are seen trying to speak to officers, who form a wall and surround the suspect.
Other members of the public took out their phones.
Some witnesses shout at the officers and appear to be trying to stand up for the suspect.
Footage shows at least five officers attempting to detain an unidentified man at Birmingham train station – but an argument breaks out during the encounter
In a series of videos posted on social media, police are seen attempting to arrest the man but he appears to resist
The woman shouts: ‘They asked him to wear a mask, he wore a mask and they’re still harassing him… because he’s black.’
A British Transport Police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘British Transport Police is aware of a video on social media of an arrest at Birmingham New Street railway station on the evening of Friday 12 March.
‘Officers at the station engaged with a male and female at around 8.30pm asking them to put on a face covering while in the station.
‘The male and female refused to do so and were directed to leave the station for not complying with Covid legislation.
‘The male refused to leave and so an officer attempted to remove him from the station.
‘At this point he became aggressive, slapping the officer on the arm and pushing him in the chest.
‘The male was subsequently arrested for assaulting a police officer and the female was arrested for obstructing police.
‘Both were taken to custody and have since been released on conditional bail.’
The video, which was uploaded to Twitter on 12 March, has gained over 15,000 views – leaving users horrified at the scenes.