Police 'bullied' injured man

Officers 'did nothing to prevent what was happening', jury was told

A man who had been knocked down and injured by a police car and handcuffed was "bullied, mocked, threatened and intimidated", the Old Bailey has heard.

Colin May, 43, was struck by a police car while being chased by five Metropolitan Police officers after he had allegedly tried to slash an officer with a knife in Bexleyheath, south east London, on 20 May 1999.

Pc David Wyvill, 43, then taunted the "effectively helpless" man, the court was told, while his colleagues looked on.

Pc Wyvill, together with Pcs Stuart Grist, 28, Frank Harrington, 52, Dennis Brant, 47 and Paul Butler, 35, deny misconduct in public office.

Paul Lewis QC, prosecuting, said the five had been called to investigate a man reported to be acting suspiciously.

They gave chase after Mr May allegedly slashed out at Mr Grist with a knife - the officer was not injured.

Broken leg

As Mr May ran, an unmarked police car driven by Pc Butler struck him, Mr Lewis said.

"As a result he suffered a broken leg. There is no evidence Butler deliberately ran down Mr May in that street and it forms no part of the prosecution's case", he added.

Mr Lewis said that Pcs Grist and Butler handcuffed him after he tried to get to his feet, despite his injured leg.

"He was laid on the ground, obviously injured and effectively helpless", he said.

Video evidence

The court was told a resident in the area had seen the incident and turned on his security camera which then recorded events.

He told the court that from the video evidence, Pc Wyvill was questioning Mr May about the knife and was heard saying: "If you do not say where it is, I am going to tread on your leg.

"You had better start thinking where the knife is and where you threw it."

The prosecution alleged that from the video, Pc Wyvill raised his leg over the prone man, saying his leg was very close to Mr May's leg.

The trial continues.