A boy aged 16 has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and possessing a knife in York.
The incident occurred in the Spurriergate area, at around 9.45pm on Friday (2 October 2020).
Officers approached a group of teenage boys who they believed were acting drunk and disorderly.
A 16-year-old boy allegedly would not co-operate with the police and was arrested. It is alleged he head-butted an officer in the face while being placed in handcuffs.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “The officer and his colleagues had to use proportionate and legitimate force to detain the suspect.”
Video ‘shows arrest’
A video which appears to show the arrest is circulating on social media. It shows a confrontation between a young person and a police officer.
The younger male is complaining about the officer being too close, although the policeman is wearing a face mask.
The officer then begins to handcuff the youth, who complains that he’s done nothing wrong.
Two officers become involved. The youth is pushed up against a wall. There appears to be an attempt to head-butt the officer and the youth is pushed to the ground, and the video ends.
We are not embedding or linking to the video because it identifies the 16-year-old suspect, which we cannot do for legal reasons.
But there was some criticism of the police response in the comments. And the person who shot the footage told YorkMix he was prevented from filming any more by officers on the scene.
Three others arrested
The teenager was arrested for assaulting an emergency worker and also for possession of a knife in a public place.
Following questioning in custody, he was released under investigation while enquiries continue.
Another 16-year-old boy was arrested for assaulting an emergency worker after he allegedly tried to intervene in the first arrest. He has been released under investigation.
A 14-year-old boy and a further 16-year-old boy were also arrested in connection with the incident.
Police say they ran from the scene and were located at the Castle Car Park with assistance from City of York Council’s CCTV operators. They were later released without charge.
A dispersal order was issued for the remainder of the group to move away from the city centre.