Florence Eshalomi

The Met Police has referred itself to The Police watchdog over The Treatment of A Woman arrested in front of her son in Croydon, South London , after wrongly being accused of bus fare evasion.

Video footage of the mother shouting as two officers handcuffed and held her provoked criticism on Social Media .

The Met said she was later released when it was confirmed she had paid for her ticket.

The Force added the video was a " snapshot of a wider incident".

The Police officers were Working Together with Transport for London (TfL) inspectors on Whitehorse Road, Croydon, when The Incident happened on Friday morning.

The Met said One Woman left the bus after not complying with a revenue inspector's request to check that she had paid her fare.

According to The Met , when asked to stop by police she attempted to walk off and became " abusive".

As a result, The Force said she was arrested on suspicion of fare evasion and detained.

She repeatedly asks one of the officers To Let go and says " I haven't done anything wrong" while a member of The Public films what is happening and asks why she is being arrested.

Officers did eventually check her ticket, which was valid. She was then unhandcuffed and released.

Vauxhall Labour MP Florence Eshalomi has asked people to be " careful" sharing the video as The Woman 's son was " very traumatised".

Writing on Twitter, She Said : " There is a distressing video circulating online with A Woman handcuffed in front of her young son.

" Please Be Careful sharing this online to help protect this young boy who is very traumatised by The Situation .

" Myself and other colleagues have raised this with The Mayor of London. "

In a statement, Det Ch Supt Christina Jessah said: " We know that this is a distressing video to watch, even more so as a child is seen to be visibly upset by The Way in which His Mother has been apprehended. We regret the upset that has been caused to The Child .

" A PCSO [police community support officer] can be seen comforting The Child ; however, we know that this does not Take Away from the impact that this will have on him.

" We Are seeking to make contact with The Female in question to understand the wider circumstances. "

The Force said the footage was " a snapshot of a wider incident" adding that officers' body worn video, which was active for a longer period than the Social Media clip, had been reviewed.

Despite not initially identifying any " conduct matters" The Met said it had now voluntarily referred itself to The Police watchdog, The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), due to grave public concern.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: " We recognise that the use of handcuffs can be a cause of concern, particularly given the context of this incident and The Type of offence involved, but when a person is trying to physically leave an incident it is an option officers can consider.

" Ticket inspection operations of this nature are difficult. They place police officers in direct confrontation with frustrated members of The Public and could escalate what would otherwise be civil matters to a different level.

" This incident raises questions about the extent to which officers are having to intervene in this way when supporting TfL in their operations. "

He Said The Force would " now work with TfL to ensure that The Balance is right between officers tackling The Most serious crime on The Transport network and supporting their own operations to ensure revenue protection".

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Source of news: bbc.com