It has since been shared independently on social media. It's understood that the man in the video has since lodged a complaint with the Professional Standards Department. 

Guernsey Police have provided the following statement: 

 “As a police service we are often faced with accusations which leave us in the position of wishing we could give more of an explanation, and provide all of the context we hold, but are unable to do so because of our role as a public authority, and the very high standards we are rightly held to. This is one of those circumstances, but we will provide as much information as possible to try and maintain public confidence. The footage released is an edited, standalone clip, which when viewed without surrounding context does, we acknowledge, show officers using force in a way which could cause distress to those who have seen it. 

 “In this case, various investigations are ongoing into this matter, including a data protection investigation into a potential breach. Therefore all we are able to say at this moment in time is the circumstances of this case involved officers restraining a man who had just been arrested for violent offences - Grievous Bodily Harm and resisting arrest. When he was brought into custody he was violent which meant the booking procedure could not be completed and he was taken straight to a cell. When detainees are ordinarily brought into custody they are asked to change into custody-provided clothing if there are concerns around the state of the detainee, their safety or the safety of others. Officers would ask detainees to do this voluntarily, but if this does not happen officers must ensure it happens, as per our procedures. 

 “The individual from this CCTV footage has subsequently received a custodial sentence in Court. 

 “The footage does not show what happened prior to and following this intervention, but Police must on occasions work with members of our community who will not comply with reasonable requests in order to ensure a safe and secure custody environment. 

 “Guernsey Police would strongly urge members of the community against judging the actions of officers through edited versions of CCTV and reach conclusions via the ‘court of public opinion’ and social media, without being aware of the full facts. Clearly the persons responsible for circulating this footage did not highlight publicly the violent nature of the offence for which this person was arrested and their conduct towards staff whilst in custody. 

 “The matter has been brought to the attention of our Professional Standards Department and we want to assure the community we will take all appropriate steps if there is any inference of misconduct.” 

More to come...