The UK’s Independent Office for Police Conduct has confirmed that it has started gathering evidence as part of the investigation into the July 21 incidence in which police officers handcuffed a black woman wrongly accused of bus fare evasion in Croydon, South London.
"We have begun gathering evidence," an IOPC spokesperson said to the Anadolu news agency via e-mail, adding that they could not comment further as the investigation was "in very early stages."
A video, which went viral on social media, showed the woman being held by two male officers while her child could be heard crying in the background.
As the woman's arms were being held, she was heard shouting in the footage. She was later released when it was confirmed that she actually had paid the fare.
In a statement, the police said that the video and circumstances “look concerning,” however, “it is a snapshot of a wider incident.”
It added that the woman was arrested after she did not comply with a revenue inspector’s request to check that she paid her fare: “When asked to stop by police she attempted to walk off and became abusive.”
On Tuesday, the police complaints watchdog for England and Wales, IOPC, said: "We received a complaint referral from the Metropolitan Police Service on Monday afternoon, which alleges that the woman was racially profiled and was also verbally abused by an officer."
Meanwhile, a group of people carrying various banners held a protest outside the police station in Croydon on Tuesday. One of the banners read: "We Do Not Trust the Police."
