News Dog MediaIt’s been revealed a commuter who headbutted a ‘ranting’ passenger during a row on a busy London train was an off-duty police officer.
In video footage taken on the C2C train, the officer appears to be restraining a shorter, bearded man against the carriage doors as they argue.
It’s unclear exactly what the pair were fighting about, though the row is believed to have started when the shorter man tried to sit on the back of two chairs.
See the moment the commuter headbutts his fellow passenger here:
The bearded man, said to be a 29-year-old, was ranting at passengers on the packed train which is believed to have been travelling from London to Southend-on-Sea on Thursday (October 3).
According to The Sun, the British Transport Police (BTP) said it received reports of a man allegedly making violent threats to passengers on the train.
In the above video, he looked to be shouting before the off-duty officer grabbed his arm and hit him with a hard headbutt.
Some passengers could be heard laughing at the incident, which was said to have taken place between Barking and West Ham.
News Dog MediaThe Metropolitan police have since confirmed the officer works for them.
In a statement, they said:
We are aware of social media footage showing an off-duty Met officer on a mainline train on the afternoon of Thursday, 3 October.
The footage on social media is a limited capture of the incident, which is believed to have lasted in excess of 20 minutes.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards have reviewed the video and the details surrounding the incident and are satisfied that there is no indication that the officer committed a criminal offence, nor that he behaved in a manner that would justify disciplinary proceedings.
At this stage no complaints have been received and so no further action will be taken.
News Dog MediaAfter being headbutted, the 29-year-old was restrained until police took him off at Upminster station in Essex.
Del Scott-Lewis, from Ockenden, told the MailOnline he was on the train as the events unfolded and claimed the 29-year-old had made threats to stab other passengers.
Another passenger, Mark Taylor, said ‘the big guy’ – presumably the police officer – ‘restrained him for about five or six minutes while being permanently shouted at and abused.’
News Dog MediaSpeaking of the headbutt, Mark continued:
No one could blame him and it did the carriage a favour. That’s why everyone was laughing. He was hauled out at Upminster. Eventful journey.
Once the 29-year-old was off the train, he was arrested on suspicion of carrying a knife and theft by finding.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.