Aggressive arrest at South Station goes viral

An encounter between Brussels police, rail security and a British passenger at South Station yesterday has gone viral, as passengers reported that the officers’ reaction was unnecessarily aggressive. Police questioned the man and then suddenly pushed him to the ground in an effort to detain him.

The man was part of a group of British travellers who had to wait at the station for several hours because of delays on the Thalys. He had been on his phone trying to get information from Thalys and was speaking in a loud voice.

Currently in Brussels. Can’t believe what I experienced. This shouldn’t be happening #Brussels #Belgium pic.twitter.com/Li4m3NuNgu

— KG (@Gbajabee) July 1, 2019

Video footage shot by fellow passengers shows that the man was angry because police had grabbed his arm out of the blue and then insisted on knowing what was in his bags. He accused officers of singling him out for a search because he is black.

Three videos have popped up on social media. Police took the man into custody for resisting arrest and then later released him. Both police and rail security have declined to comment on the situation.