Two Metropolitan Police officers have been placed on restricted duties after “disgraceful” footage emerged appearing to show a member of the force trying to smash his way into a car while the driver is still inside.
The Metropolitan Police Service said a formal complaint had been made after a recording of the incident was circulated on social media.
The clip, which went viral on Saturday, shows an officer attacking a motorist’s car with his baton after the driver refuses to exit his vehicle after being stopped in Camden.
The incident happened in Weedington Road on Friday, police said.
Police confirmed that the driver of the vehicle has been spoken to by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS), who are investigating the footage.
Despite the officer involved causing considerable damage to the driver’s vehicle, police confirmed that the incident did not result in any arrests.
The Met Police said in a statement: “The officers involved in the incident have been identified and have been placed on restricted duties.
“Although the investigation is in its early stages, it has been established that the officers stopped the vehicle based on information relating to a man who is of interest to police.
“On conclusion of the incident the officers identified that the driver was not the man in question and he was not arrested.
“The investigation will examine the officer’s use of force during the incident.”
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 more than 87,000 times.