Police accused of heavy-handed tactics after pepper-spraying footie fans
- last year
Football fans have accused police of heavy-handed tactics after a shocking video emerged of officers pepper spraying a group of supporters at a train station.
Footage shows one policeman push a supporter before another unleashed the chemical irritant into the faces of several Grimsby Town fans.
Following the incident, one fan was seen rolling on the floor and clasping their head in agony, while another simply opened their arms wide in disbelief.
Police defended the use of the spray to 'protect themselves' while dealing with 'significant disorder'.
But Grimsby fan George Coomber, 26, who filmed the footage at Doncaster train station, denied this and branded police’s action “over-aggressive".
He said: “It was over-aggressive when it didn’t need to be. It was so over the top. It was ridiculous.
"There was no disorder. There was no reasonable reason to use that spray at that time.
"Where I was there was no disorder whatsoever. I don't know where that's come from. There was some disorder away from the station.
"But why were they then causing a scene at the station before the train arrived? It seems a bit strange.
"I don't believe what they are saying. From where I was, no one was doing anything wrong."
The incident unfolded around 6.30pm on Monday (April 10) when Grimsby fans arrived at the train station after their side's 2-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers.
Dad-of-one George said the supporters were a little “rowdy” but in a “happy” mood following the 96th-minute injury-time winner against their League Two rivals.
But the salesman said some fans began to ask why police had taken one man aside for questioning at the station before an officer went on to pepper spray them.
He said: “There’s just one train back home, so we were waiting for it.
“It was a local derby, it was a bit rowdy and basically, the police went to speak to a few of the fans. One guy was cornered by the police.
“Some of the other fans objected to that. The train was literally minutes away from arriving, and the fans were concerned about him not getting back home.
“There was a guy saying, ‘let’s just forget about it, and sort it out later.’ And all of a sudden, the police officer gives him a massive shove.
“And after he did that, they started getting the pepper spray out and pepper spraying everybody. One guy had his arms out, saying ‘What have you done that for?’.
George added: “We were happy. It was a joyful day. We’d ended up scoring two goals to win the game. It’s not as if we’d lost 5-0. That makes it even more bizarre.
“The fan that got shoved messaged me. He told me he also got pepper sprayed, and in the morning, when he had a shower, he was in so much agony because of it.
“And when he got shoved, he got cuts and bruises all along his hands as they got caught in some railings.”
Following the incident, British Transport Police said a man had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly and assaulting an emergency worker.
Footage shows one policeman push a supporter before another unleashed the chemical irritant into the faces of several Grimsby Town fans.
Following the incident, one fan was seen rolling on the floor and clasping their head in agony, while another simply opened their arms wide in disbelief.
Police defended the use of the spray to 'protect themselves' while dealing with 'significant disorder'.
But Grimsby fan George Coomber, 26, who filmed the footage at Doncaster train station, denied this and branded police’s action “over-aggressive".
He said: “It was over-aggressive when it didn’t need to be. It was so over the top. It was ridiculous.
"There was no disorder. There was no reasonable reason to use that spray at that time.
"Where I was there was no disorder whatsoever. I don't know where that's come from. There was some disorder away from the station.
"But why were they then causing a scene at the station before the train arrived? It seems a bit strange.
"I don't believe what they are saying. From where I was, no one was doing anything wrong."
The incident unfolded around 6.30pm on Monday (April 10) when Grimsby fans arrived at the train station after their side's 2-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers.
Dad-of-one George said the supporters were a little “rowdy” but in a “happy” mood following the 96th-minute injury-time winner against their League Two rivals.
But the salesman said some fans began to ask why police had taken one man aside for questioning at the station before an officer went on to pepper spray them.
He said: “There’s just one train back home, so we were waiting for it.
“It was a local derby, it was a bit rowdy and basically, the police went to speak to a few of the fans. One guy was cornered by the police.
“Some of the other fans objected to that. The train was literally minutes away from arriving, and the fans were concerned about him not getting back home.
“There was a guy saying, ‘let’s just forget about it, and sort it out later.’ And all of a sudden, the police officer gives him a massive shove.
“And after he did that, they started getting the pepper spray out and pepper spraying everybody. One guy had his arms out, saying ‘What have you done that for?’.
George added: “We were happy. It was a joyful day. We’d ended up scoring two goals to win the game. It’s not as if we’d lost 5-0. That makes it even more bizarre.
“The fan that got shoved messaged me. He told me he also got pepper sprayed, and in the morning, when he had a shower, he was in so much agony because of it.
“And when he got shoved, he got cuts and bruises all along his hands as they got caught in some railings.”
Following the incident, British Transport Police said a man had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly and assaulting an emergency worker.