London cop 'stripped to his shirtsleeves and punched a woman three times in the head' after she'd been detained in a shop

A Met Police officer stripped to his shirtsleeves before punching a woman three times in the head, a court heard today. PC James Kiddie, 45, attacked the victim in a busy Regent Street branch of Uniqlo and then tried to coach a witness, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told.

In shocking CCTV images seen for the first time today, the officer is seen to remove his overcoat and jacket, before searching the handbag of Sarah Reed, 30.

Kiddie then appears to force the woman back in a chair, looming over her in the shop storeroom where she had been detained by security.

Without obvious warning, the policeman appears to grab the woman by the hair with both hands, ripping off her hat and dragging her to the floor. Another camera captures Kiddie punch the young woman in the head three times as she lies in a corridor, it is alleged.

The PC continues to pin the motionless figure down with his knee, until back-up arrive minutes later.

Jenny Saunders, a loss prevention officer at the store, said: ‘He arrived and I relay the incident to him. I believe he goes to search her bag.

‘I think instantly she felt resistant to that, saying you are not going to search my bag and she stood up.’

Miss Saunders said the suspected thief had threatened to ‘head-butt’ the officer. ‘I saw him approach her and he warned her he was going to put her in handcuffs. ‘He grabbed her hair and pulled her down to the ground.’

‘Was there any fighting back by Miss Reed?’, prosecutor Rupert Kent asked. ‘No’, replied Miss Saunders.

Miss Saunders said she left and returned only after Kiddie had thrown the punches.

Reed was screaming, ‘I can’t believe you did that. You assaulted me. They would have seen that. You are in trouble.’

Miss Saunders continued: ‘Officer Kiddie turned to me and said "You saw her bite me, right?". ‘I said no. He did show me and I couldn’t see any marks. ‘He returned, saying again: "You saw her bite me, make sure you put that in your statement".’

Kiddie has two previous disciplinary findings of ‘incivility’ against him.

He was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission for deploying CS Gas during a UK Uncut protest on Oxford Street in January 2011.

The IPCC recommended Kiddie face a ‘misconduct meeting’. ‘That is in the future and has not happened yet’, his barrister Ben Brandon said.

Kiddie, from Ruislip, west London, denies assault by beating.

Original report here

　

　

　

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