Police have launched an investigation after a video emerged showing a police officer trying to smash his way into a motorist’s car after he refused to exit the vehicle in an incident slammed as “disgraceful”.
The clip, which went viral on Saturday after being shared on several social media platforms, shows an officer attacking a motorist’s car with his baton after the driver refuses to exit his vehicle after being stopped.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed late Saturday that it was aware of the incident which involved uniformed officers in Camden and said the footage was now being investigated by the Directorate of Professional Standards.
“As soon as the MPS was made aware of the footage, the DPS was contacted immediately,” a police spokesperson said.
Despite the officer involved causing considerable damage to the driver’s vehicle during the incident in north west London on Friday, police confirmed that the incident did not result in any arrests.
“As this matter is in its early stages,” the spokesperson added, the officers involved have not been suspended or placed on restricted duties.
Driver Leon Fontana told the Evening Standard that he had been on the way to the shops when police stopped his Ford Zetec and mistook him for his cousin “even though I showed him my ID and took the keys out”.
Fontana said: “He was just aggressive from the get go and then it was just ‘smash, smash, smash’.”
“Even if I was someone who only had a provisional licence, that’s not the way an officer should conduct themselves.”
The 25-year-old said several shards of glass flew into his eye during the incident which he has complained to police about.
Fontana added to the Standard: “I just thought ‘is this for real? Is this really happening?’
“There was so much shock. It’s something nobody should ever have to experience.”
The video shows the officer repeatedly asking Fontana to “get out” of his vehicle as he becomes visible agitated by the motorists non-compliance.
Fontana can then be heard telling the officer that “I’ve got a licence”, as the officer uses the butt of his baton to smash the driver’s side window.
He tells the officer again that he has a licence and insurance, and adds: “Look what you’re doing to my car. What’s the problem officer?”
The officer then tells Fontana that he is a disqualified driver, as he begins battering the his windscreen.
After shattering the glass, the officer then removes a knife from his belt and attempts to cut the windscreen away so he can enter the vehicle.
Shortly afterwards Fontana’s passenger appears to open the door and the officer apprehends the pair with the assistance of another officer who had watched the incident unfold.
Fontana is then heard telling the officer that he is not “TJ”.
The video has been condemned by hundreds of commenters on social media as “fucking disgraceful” and has been viewed over 27,000 times.