From Sky News:
Updated: 09:46, Thursday March 08, 2007
A woman is taking civil action against a police officer who was caught on CCTV punching her five times.
The film - described as "stomach-turning" - has prompted calls for an investigation amid suggestions of police brutality and racism.
Toni Comer, 20, had been thrown out of a Sheffield nightclub and police were called when she vandalised a car.
In the video she was seen falling down a flight of steps with one officer and when colleagues and a security guard arrived she was punched five times in the subsequent melee.
The South Yorkshire police officer who struck her said he hit her "as hard as I was physically able" to deaden her arm so she could be restrained.
She was then slapped in cuffs and dragged away with her trousers down as a police dog handler watched.
Ms Comer - who said she may have been having an epileptic fit at the time, which caused her to thrash around - pleaded guilty to criminal damage and was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 compensation.
She admitted being drunk at the time of the arrest and said she had no memory of the events.
"I really don't believe it. I didn't think they would actually do something like that at all," she said.
Her father Leroy said: "My kids have been brought up to be honest and tell the truth but this sort of incident makes you lose confidence in the police service.
The moment Ms Comer was hit "I have a 14-year-old son at home and he is obviously going to be influenced by what has happened to his sister. I could understand him not having a liking for the police. I would be hopeful that justice will be done."
Shami Chakrabarti, of human rights group Liberty, said: "The Independent Police Complaints Commission must investigate urgently in the knowledge that public confidence in modern policing and the police complaints system is at stake."
Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman and MP for Sheffield Hallam, said: "The violence in this footage is shocking, especially as it took place as several officers were holding down one woman."
Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei, of the National Black Police Association, said it was "absolutely" a concern that race may have been an issue as Ms Comer is black.
But he said that, while the video looked "appalling" at first glance, it was acceptable for officers to use force of the kind seen if it was necessary to stop the person being arrested from harming themselves or someone else.
South Yorkshire Police - which said it was "happy" with the officer's conduct - said it was "outraged" as suggestions of racism.
The officer, identified only as PC Mulhall, said he had been kicked and spat at by Ms Comer, who he said also tried to bite him.
In a statement he said he had tried to subdue her. "There was no visible effect and in the end I had to use brute force and both hands to bend her arm at the elbow to place her wrist in the cuff."
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http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/vi...7_0700,00.html