Policeman feared for his safety

PC Keith Empsall was trying to make an arrest

A police officer who was filmed punching and kicking a man has told a court that he feared for his safety.

PC Keith Empsall, 42, said he was confronted by a man who was drunk and very angry.

The officer has pleaded not guilty to common assault while arresting Christopher Wilson outside his home in Clarendon Street in Wakefield.

PC Empsall told Leeds Magistrates' Court: "I wanted to effect the arrest as best I could.

PC Empsall (right) denies common assult

"I wanted to go home at the end of the shift to my wife and children without being injured," he said.

Police were called to Clarendon Street after receiving reports that a man was damaging a car with a baseball bat.

PC Empsall told the court he became aware when he arrived that "something major and violent" had happened

Mr Wilson was, he said, an "angry young drunk" and he felt threatened as he tried to arrest him for being drunk and disorderly.

Take control

PC Empsall told the court he struck out and aimed for the top of Mr Wilson's shoulders in an attempt to "distract and disorientate" him.

"I knew I had to go in there and take control of the arrest," he said.

The incident was captured on video by an amateur film maker Mark Goodwin.

The trial is continuing.