Authorities must apologise for ‘knee on neck’ police arrest, lawyer says

Marcus Coutain in court on knife charge as solicitor compares incident in north London to George Floyd case

Authorities should formally apologise to the man who was filmed pleading with a police officer to “get off my neck”, his lawyer has said.

Marcus Coutain was handcuffed and forcefully held down on the pavement after being stopped in Islington, north London, on Thursday evening.

One Metropolitan Police officer has been suspended and another placed on restricted duties and the manner of the arrest is now being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Mr Coutain was charged with possessing a knife in public and appeared in custody at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Saturday afternoon.

The court heard that police believed Mr Coutain matched the description of a suspect in an assault in Isledon Road.

However, his lawyer, Timur Rustem, claimed that Mr Coutain was initially searched for drugs and was carrying the knife lawfully for repairing his bicycle.

Speaking outside court, Mr Rustem compared the use of the knee to the US case of George Floyd, who died after an officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes. Footage of his killing in May sparked worldwide protests against systematic racism and police brutality.

He told reporters: "Essentially Mr Coutain was stopped and searched for matters for which he has not been charged.

“It is the use of what I would regard as excessive force, a knee being placed on his neck ... references which mirror exactly what happened to George Floyd in America.

“A man saying, ‘I can’t breathe,’ and, ‘Get your knee off my neck’, while he was already handcuffed and while he was restrained by two police officers.”

He said Mr Coutain suffered “fortunately minimal” injuries to his wrists and neck, adding: “Fortunately it didn’t lead to the tragic consequences that we saw in America.”

Mr Coutain was “very distressed and very confused and not quite sure why he was targeted in this way”, Mr Rustem said.

“What I would hope to happen is that the Crown Prosecution Service properly review this case before then and drop the charges and offer a formal apology to Mr Coutain for the conduct of those Metropolitan officers.”

Footage posted on social media on Thursday evening showed two officers holding a handcuffed black man who can be heard shouting: “Get off me ... Get off my neck – I haven’t done anything wrong. Get off my neck.”

Deputy Commissioner Sir Steve House described the video as “deeply disturbing” and said some of the techniques, which are “not taught in police training”, caused him “great concern”.

Mr Coutain indicated a not guilty plea to the charge of possessing a knife and his case was sent to Snaresbrook Crown Court for the next hearing on 17 August.

Additional reporting by Press Association