A man has received £17,000 in compensation after a police officer was caught on camera striking him repeatedly with a baton.
Omar Mushtaq, 27, from north London, was at a birthday party at the O2 Arena in 2013 when police intervened as he tried to get a drunk friend to "calm down".
Footage released by Mr Mushtaq’s solicitor showed Sergeant Matthew Bassett hitting him repeatedly with an extendable baton, before grabbing his phone from his hand while two colleagues restrained him.
Mr Mushtaq said: “This was a brutal end to a friend's party. I admit we got a bit loud trying to calm down a drunk friend, but the police were heavy-handed and aggressive.
“I was assaulted, arrested and imprisoned. This settlement reflects just how violent the police were, as can be seen on the video footage."
Mr Bassett was cleared of actual bodily harm following a five-day trial in April 2015, and resigned before an internal misconduct hearing.
Terence Channer, of London-based law firm Scott-Moncrieff, said: "Mr Mushtaq and his friends were not being aggressive and not causing any disturbance to others - they were at a birthday party, trying to calm down a drunk friend.
“That's the long and short of it, but the police response was over the top.”
Additional reporting by PA
