Police arrest 'too forceful' says witness

The 42-year-old man was tackled to the floor and arrested by police following a dispute between him and security guards outside the Monsoon clothes store at 5.15pm.

A witness told the Staines News that the man remonstrated with security guards who he thought had accused his daughter of theft, but felt the response from police officers who later attended the scene was over the top.

Roy West, who took a few pictures, said: "Three girls aged between 12-14 years old were stopped outside the store Monsoon by two female store detectives."

He said a policewoman come over to see what was happening, followed by a father of one the girls. The father asked the store detectives if his daughter had stolen anything, to which they replied no.

Mr West said: "It got heated between the father and the police and the police pushed him to the ground and hand cuffed him. It was a total over reaction on the part of the police, and I heard the man shout out, 'you are hurting me.' It could have been dealt with in a different way."

The man was tackled to the floor outside Reed Agency in front of a number of eye witnesses.

Mr West added: "I am an ex-army man and I learnt years ago on how to handcuff, and I saw the policeman turn the handcuff on the man's wrist, which causes pain and shouldn't have been done."

Mr West took pictures and said he printed off A4 posters and has been handing them to stores in the town to notify them on the right to take pictures in a public place, after he said one of the store detectives told him he shouldn't snap the incident.

He said: "My dad was a policeman for a very long time before he died, and if he saw what happened on Saturday he would have hung his head to the ground."

A police spokesman said: "The arrested man struggled and did not allow officers to cuff him, therefore reasonable force was used to detain him. No injuries were sustained during the arrest.

"He later admitted to resisting arrest in interview and apologised to the officers involved for obstructing them and for using very abusive language towards them.

"As previously stated, bearing in mind all the circumstances including this admission of guilt, he was deemed suitable to be cautioned for the offences."