Police Accused Of Using Pepper Spray And Tasers At Student Protest In Warwick

A video of violence between police officers and students at a top English university has been posted on YouTube. The footage captures officers from West Midlands Police attending a protest at the University of Warwick on Wednesday. (See the video below.)

The force has been accused of using "excessive force" at the national student protest, the Guardian says, which was arranged to fight rising tuition fees. It's been claimed that officers used CS (pepper) spray on the protesters and a taser was drawn but not fired.

Postgraduate student Lawrence Green posted this photo:

He told the Guardian:

"The police came in and started pushing people around. They grabbed my friend by the scarf, and I tried to help her.

"The police shouted: 'Get back, get back or we'll pepper-spray you'. I was then pushed back while they sprayed my face. They got me directly in the eyes. They also had Tasers and had their batons out.

"They stood on my phone and I think that was to prevent me from filming and to damage any film I already had."

The police say officers were called after an alleged assault on a member of university staff. The suspect was arrested, alongside two others for obstructing police.

The students were part of the Warwick For Free Education group. Its members say the sit-in was "peaceful". Helena Dunnett-Orridge describes:

"They pushed people to the ground and grabbed a girl by the throat using her scarf. They also used CS spray in my friend's face and had Tasers. They started physically pushing and carrying people out. They dragged me out with them."

The university has released a statement. It says security staff, who had been supervising the protest, were subjected to an "unprovoked act of violence" - which is why the police got called in. Warwick students had joined others around the country for the protest.

Here's the footage: