A young man claims that he was brutally kicked and assaulted by police during a routine stop-and-search.

Tope Omisore, 25, says that he had his head pushed down and was kicked and jumped on repeatedly in a police van before officers laughed as they walked away from the scene.

After the incident, Mr Omisore went to North Middlesex Hospital to seek treatment and also to get photographic evidence of the injuries to his arms, legs, face and hand.

When they discovered where he had gone, police said they could take pictures of the injuries at Edmonton police station.

But in a shocking development, when he arrived at the station Mr Omisore claims that police said that no proper camera was available.

Instead they took blurred pictures with a Polaroid camera, only giving Mr Omisore black and white copies.

advertisementPolice say they can make no comment as the complaint has been referred to the directorate of professional standards.

This is the same internal police body which investigated the shooting of innocent Jean Charles de Menezes in the wake of the 7/7 bombings.

Mr Omisore was stopped by police in Pycroft Way, Edmonton, at 8pm on Wednesday, June 18, when on his way to visit a friend.

His stop-and-search form gave the reason that he "resembled someone who was known to police".

Mr Omisore says that he was handcuffed and wrestled to the ground before a back-up team arrived.

He said: "I was shouting. I wanted everybody to see what was going on.

"I was telling them get off me. I couldn't breathe."

He added: "I didn't swear so they didn't have any grounds to arrest me."

Mr Omisore claims that one officer told him: "If you don't like it get in touch with your local MP."

After dragging his feet along the floor so they were unable to take off his shoes, Mr Omisore said that police pushed him in their van and started attacking him en masse.

He said: "One of them pushed his forearm against my throat, but I was pushing my chin down, so he put his hand on the top of my head and pushed down.

"One was kicking me with the flat of his foot, as if I was a football."

Mr Omisore said that the incident has totally shaken his faith in the police.

He said: "There is no way I am going to the police now. I don't think I can trust them enough.

"They are supposed to be protecting us and thaeyare doing this.

"At the end of the day I didn't think I was going to come out of there alive - that is not an exaggeration.

"They were like hyenas and I was like a piece of meat."