Protests as man's turban allegedly removed and stamped on by West Midlands Police officer
Protests have been held after a video emerged accusing a West Midlands Police custody officer of forcibly removing a turban from a man and stamping on it on the floor.
The force issued a statement after the video was shared on social media and said a man has been charged with obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty.
People were protesting outside a Perry Barr custody suite on Wednesday night in response to the video, which claims that a Sikh man had his turban ripped off and stamped on at the custody suite and was taunted and laughed at by officers.
However some still images from unrelated incidents have been included next to the allegations.
Gurpreet Singh Anand, president of the Sikh Council UK, said that the incident was symptomatic of "growing animosity" between West Midlands Police and the Sikh community.
He described the man's treatment as "completely unacceptable, irrelevant of what the crime he is purported to have committed," adding: “For many years we have seen other minority communities report of bias in the police force and the Sikhs are now seeing the same from the West Midlands Police.
“We are not experiencing the same treatment from other police forces around the country, it appears that there is a clear problem within the West Midlands Police.”
A spokesman from West Midlands Police said: "We are aware of social media posts accusing one of our custody officers of forcibly removing the turban from a man and stamping on it on the floor.
"The safety of people in custody and our officers is our primary concern, therefore it is sometimes necessary to search anyone who is uncooperative for weapons or anything which could cause harm, while also respecting privacy and religious practices.
"The man has since been charged with obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty and two counts of driving a vehicle when the vehicle registration mark fails to conform with regulations.
"He was released on bail to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on November 25.
"A complaint has subsequently been received and is being investigated by our Professional Standards Department."
