A video of police officers being “attacked” by a group of men in Hackney is circulating social media.
In the footage, which has been watched more than 267,000 times on Twitter since it was posted yesterday (June 10), two police officers can be seen fending off a group of men, one of which has a bat-like item.
It starts with one officer being held on the floor with his mouth covered, before a second officer steps in to the confrontation and calls for backup.
“This is truly despicable and society should never accept such behaviour - we are here to protect you,” BCU Cmdr Marcus Barnett tweeted.
“The officers are safe, but clearly shaken and incredibly brave too. Arrests will be made... This must stop.”
READ MORE: Police release image of car connected to Lower Clapton ShootingHackney mayor Philip Glanville said: “Anyone seeing these videos tonight will be as shocked and horrified as I am by this attack on two Hackney police officers.
“My thoughts are with both officers and praise their bravery when faced with this situation. Our police are here to protect us and scenes like this are unacceptable.”
He later added: “Elsewhere on Twitter I have already seen people quickly making disgusting racist comments about this incident. This is also unacceptable and an attack not just on Hackney’s diverse communities, but also the @MPSHackney who as this video shows are also diverse public servants.”
The original Tweet, which was posted by @CrimeLdn, has been retweeted about 1,900 times.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here