Let this be a warning about the dangers of binge drinking. There has been far too much made of this. The people who think the police are out of line here should get out more and see what Engerland is like after dark. It can be very ugly. Nobody seems to be disputing she was violently drunk and involved in criminal damage. Get over it.

David, Manchester, UK

Nobody talks about the violent abuse police officers (and the public) have to endure from drunken, out-of-control people, who know all about their rights and nothing about their duties, how to behave in public. This woman clearly has't learned how to consum alcohol, and behaved in an appalling way. Some campaigner now uses her case for his agenda.
Jean Martin

Jean Martin, Kingston on Thames, UK

A minute and a half from the time the two people tumble down the stairs and fall to the floor till the first blow is struck. Another minute till one of them is subdued sufficiently to be 'escorted' to the car. I do not think that the police officer had an easy time of it. Yes he does lose control and lash out, but until then he was on the receiving end. To put it in perspective, she's 19 and has been evicted for unacceptable behaviour. It takes three officers plus a police dog to bring the situation under control. I think Ms Comer should be doing some apologising too.

J S Christopher, New Malden, UK

What is this country coming to!

The woman was damaging property, she was caught red handed by the police and arrested. FULL STOP

The fact that the officer had to use force to do this was in line with him doing his job. I am amazed that the police haven't charged her with resisting arrest as well.

Unfortunately we now live in a country where we are too soft on crime. Asbos are ineffective and provide no deterant, if anything it seems that these people wear them as badges of honour!

The policeman was doing his job how he was taught! this is not news!

James Levitton, Cobham, Surrey

Policemen do not punch women. Men who punch women cannot be police officers, and Chief Constables who think it is OK for their officers to punch women must go too.

Nigel Robertson, Melton Mowbray,

The police officer had every right to defend himself when being attacked, just like an ordinary member of the public would. He showed great restraint by only hitting her in the arm! Would any member of the public accept being kicked, grabbed, and generally attacked by an aggressive, drunken thug (as this woman clearly was, and as she has been convicted for being), without striking back? Her gender and ethnic origin are irrelevant; this is a clear case of the police officer using reasonable force to defend himself from attack.

Ian Sturrock, Wrexham,

It's interesting that most seem to believe the policeman when he says she was grabbing his genitals and assaulting him yet you can not see any of this on the video.

If you suddently realise you may be on film when you've punched a woman as hard as you possibly can FIVE times whilst she's being held down by two other officers then maybe the comments about her assaulting him could be his only getout of jail card to justify hitting her as he did.

She may be lying but the police are human too and can and do lie to protect themselves so an open mind is needed until all the FACTS are investigated. My own personal opinion is it appears to be a bit OTT considering the number of officers present

Gary Benson, Stoke On Trent,

If this women was epileptic was it wise for her to indulge in heavy drinking knowing that she had a serious medical condition? I have been on the receiving end of a drunken women whilst serving with the BSA Police in Rhodesia in the 1960's and "minimum force" is the only prescribed way of subduing such a person. Female policewomen should also be on hand when circumstances like this happened as part of the arresting team. The Chief Constable is right in bringing in the IPCC to carry out a full investigation.

Mike, Ilkley,

I am a bit concerned about a few things.
Why was the PC punching her ?
If she was assaulting him in the manner he suggests, why were the other policemen not assisting him?
The fact she was having an epileptic fit must have been very obvious to the policemen, as it was clearly shown on a CCTV camera from a distance. Why were they still holding her down when this is contra indicated in every First Aid course I have been on. She was not going to run away in the middle of a fit, or in the confused state afterwards. Maybe retraining these Officers in First Aid, and safe restraint is in order here.
How did her trousers end up round her knees? As a mother of 4 daughters this does concern me. Most girls that age wear trousers so tight that they would not have fallen down. I am concerned that 4 policemen could not safely restrain a young girl without resorting to violence themselves. I am not condoning her actions either. Getting drunk and vandalising property is a no go area.

B.P.Russell, Windsor, England

There are many facets to this story. In the ideal world the night club would either refuse to admit drunks or refuse to serve those who are getting too drunk. They would have "lone female" policy and not eject vulnerable drunken young women into the street late at night but have cooling off room - most drunks fall asleep. One viewing of "Booze Britain" shows us what the police have to deal with especially now our clever Government has extended the licensing hours. That said I can't understand why several male PCs presumably trained in restraining people could not each take an arm or a leg and carry her away. I know she was thrashing about but I find it hard to believe that the policemen were unable to do that. Also, if any other man hit a drunken spitting kicking woman and used the defence that she grabbed my genitals would it be acceptable? The groin area is vulnerable and protection seems obvious for the police, also a safe stunning device would be great - in the ideal world!

Anne, Sidcup,

As a retired police officer I can tell you that people,including women, are very difficult to deal with when either drunk,drugged or even having a fit. They become extremely strong and lash out. Would it not be better to wait until ALL the evidence is view and investigated by the police complaints authority rather than a very short extract from a CCTV clip.If the woman was holding onto his genitals then he has every right to use force to try and get her to let go.Don't condem the officer until all the facts have been revealed.

Anthony Kirvell, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex

I'm sorry, but this was a FEMALE "offender" - so where were the WOMEN PC's? And, precisely why were so many men unable to SAFELY RESTRAIN this woman using DIGNIFIED control and restraint means? Where was the DE ESCALATION?

? Anger management in order.....for the Police Force?

bATES, uk,

just another mob trying to make money out playing the race card !. And the father already enjoying the idea of easy cash rolling in. Disgusting....

alan, london, uk

I think she should have been thrown in the clanger until sober, charged in court for beeing a public nuisance, and do some community work to teach her that you should not behave like this in public.
Drunk, Disorderly and out of control is not acceptable in a public place.

Alex Andresen, Algeciras, Spain

This girl should have been charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. I fully support the way she was dealt .

D Moody, St Neots, Cambs

This occured in July, She did not comlain then. She admitted the charge yesterday and got fined.
Mm.. does she need the cop to pay the fine.
In the end, she was abusive, out of control, got kicked out, damaged a car (does she blame it?), and got arrested.
All normal. And yes, to pin someone down, more people is better, it allows to reduce the risk of injuries on all parties.
The cop should countersue fo the bad press and mental anguish. I hope ihe would win big (especially all the money from the newspaperr she might have gleaned for the interviews)

Denis, Romford,

As a Firefighter/Paramedic in Los Angeles, I have been assaulted (spat on, punched, kicked, scratched, grabbed, etc.) numerous times by intoxicated "patients" whom I had came to help. At those times it became necessary to "restrain" these people with the appropriate amounts of force to ensure the safety of all (which happens here a vast majority of the time). I have never assaulted a patient and pride myself in providing excellent care even after being attacked. Unfortunately, here in the land of the lawsuit, the assumption is that law enforcement/emergency medical services must be wrong each time they apply force because of a few bad incidents among tens of thousands (and yes, they were bad).

It warms my heart to hear that somewhere in the world officers of the law are trusted to do their job and that the citizenry apply their experience and judgement to discern the difference between police brutality and the proper use of force.

BW, Los Angeles, USA/CA

The woman assaulted the officer in a potentially very harmful way. Why hasn't she admitted that she was wrong to do that? She should be ashamed of her actions and in prison.

Ed Prescott, London,

just for the record the female fell down the stairs and then encountered five to six blows to her face by someone who's job is to protect her .if she broke her neck or had been injured to the head area or spin when fol-ling down the hard stone or iron steps she could had easily die and then what "the police are bad news if she was a dog the person would have been locked up for less than that hope that never happens to any ones child what ever sex they are god bless the me ck

david, london, greenwich

What was the lady doing anyway resisting an officer? If you misbehave in public and create a scene then expect to get punished. This is the way the YOB culture shoyld be dealt with. Arrest them straight away and use heavy handed tactics with them if they dont listen. The Yobbish cultures survives as no one is afraid of the police.

Sarang, basildon, UK

I'm usually quick to jump on the police for the use of violence in any situation. I believe that they get away with a lot in cases that are either hushed up or covered up (ask the Menzies family). But a lack of respect for everything is growing in Britain and it needs to be reversed. ASBOs don't work and the "tough on crime" call turned out to be one of King Tony's biggest fibs. If she grabbed this policeman in the way described then he had every right to use ALL necessary force to make her let go. If that involved breaking the bone then so be it. Part of the reason I left Britain was because of the yob culture that seems to be THE culture. If these people don't respect legitimate authority then make them respect it. Zero tolerance and huge sentences will deter the morons. Assault on an officer of the law: ten years, no parole. No TV, no luxuries. Work and re-education. Then see how many crimes against policemen there are.

Mike Rogerson, Moscow,

If she was attacking the officer then why were the other two by her side motionless when she was beaten.
The cctv would show them struggling to restrain her also,not motionless.At that point in the film she is subdued.When she struggles earlier you can see shadow of her arm movements on the left hand side. At the point of attack there are no shadows showing movement of her arms and the officer takes this oportunity to hit her.
I'm sure analysis of the tape will prove who's lying, unfortunately I think the officer will face charges.

N Morgan, Halifax,

Surely if Ms Comer was trying to behave the same way with a general public as she did with the Police officer and if the Police Officer intervened and punched her to subdue her, then I am sure most people would be happy...and not be stupid enough to talk about Tony's state police theory. Ms Comer is clearly seen kicking the officer in the groin ( 10th second in the BBC video)...
Compensation culture at its height.....

Jey, Edinburgh,

A person who is epileptic should not be allowed to go out and get drunk /hang about around night clubs where they have flashing lights. She was a danger to herself and people around her. Her parents should be questioned.

Binny, London, UK

Cormer has apparently said "I hope they get what's coming to them" or words to that effect. She was resisting arrest and attempting to assualt the police officer, and did not desist when told to. It's disgusting that he's been taken off duty for doing his job and even more so that some fools are marching out the good old "racist police" standard.

I support South Yorkshire Police and specifically PC Mulhall entirely.

Kirsty, London, Greater London

A lot of police officers look and act like thugs. I very much suspect that they are actually thugs at heart. These police need to be retrained to acquire the proper skills of the job of how to apprehend someone without behaving like a yobbo themselves.
Beating a woman is wrong and no better than the criminals.

Andrew, London, UK

This video comes from a group called MONITORIING GROUP NORTH. Hmmm , any chance that they are playing the race card?

Terry Stevens, Watford,

Why was she ejected from the night club? Why was she vandalising the car? £100 says she has previous... Come on, ordinary folk have had enough of all this!!! I spent 12 months suspended for very similar circumstances, and had social services crawling all over me and my family.... because a juvenile was involved.Only for it all to be 'dropped' once the facts starting coming out....

Let the cops get on with their job.....which is what they were doing.

J Tarbett, Skipton, North Yorkshire

Young girl apprently suffers from epilepsy is in a disco drinking brandy all evening. Get's thron out becomes even more abusive attacting the bouncers and cars. continues to violently resist arrest. The offficer hits her upper arm to put the cuffs on her. He even admits this ws with force. I think this is exactly what you should expect if you behave like this in public. The only injustice here is the officer has been taken of duty.

JA, London, UK

The "victim's" father shows his true colours with the line, "There’s got to be some compensation paid". Apparently, the victim had no recollection of the event, until some lawyer said that there might be some cash in it for them if they filed a complaint. The headline should have read "Abusive ASBO-dodger finds new way to scam money from the state without actually earning it".

Johnny, London, UK

Don't break the law and this kind of thing won't befall you. It's fairly simple.

Dom, Liverpool,

The woman drank herself into a disgraceful state and was a danger to herself and others - she should take responsibilty for the consequences of that. The police officer was entitled to use reasonable force to defend himself, particularly as she was aiming for body areas where permanent injury could have been caused. It was the responsibility of the police to subdue her as quickly as possible to protect themselves, herself and the public in general and since she was violent and completely out of control the force used was proportionate for that purpose.

Emma, Cambridge, UK

I don't understand what all the fuss is about. If it is necessary to hit someone as the only method of putting a stop to your physical pain, then you have no choice. And for the defendant to say that she has no recollection of the incident is all too easy and goes a long way to invalidating any opinion she may have of the events. Some people become very difficult to control, and physical force then becomes a necessity in the face of attack. It may not be a pleasant necessity but the alternative is for police to ask "is there any likelihood of violence? yes? oh then we'll stay at the station and not get involved. Deal with it yourself."

Marco, bhm, uk

It's a shame that there is no news coverage of the hundreds if not thousands of acts of vandalism and criminal damage (such as the type described in the article) which takes place every week. My initial reaction to the news coverage was 'I’m glad the police have caught someone and prosecuted them for this.'

The police get criticised for not dealing with this type of offence and (though it might have been dealt with in a heavy handed manner) it is to be hoped the news coverage might serve to deter these individuals from their nightly sprees of destruction so prevalent in the cities and towns across the UK.

A. Morley, Leeds, UK

i think that policehave a hard job and with only a small amount of time to make a dissision it can some times be hard to make judgment and i am sure the officer in question at that point belived that he was doing the right thing , however looking back there possiblly could have been a better way to tackle this problem .
seems to me the father of the daughter is hoping for a payout as he states , either the police officer lose's his job or a compensation payout..... he should look at the big picture this is someone's job is you had raised your daughter correclly and to have some respect for other peoples belongings and feelings than this wouldnt have happend

Dice, Bristol, England

I've seen a policeman strike a member of the public, and he was perfectly justified in doing so (briefly, the guy was interrupted in the midst of stealing a car, and ran). He came and asked me afterwards if I had seen him 'roughing up' the suspect - indicating that if I had it was helpful rather than being a cause of worry for him.

I realise we 'have' to have inquiries in this day and age, but I for one am confident that the officers' actions will be vindicated in this case. It's quite amusing that the father portrayed his 9-STONE daughter as though she were some kind of delicate princess who could have been restrained in a more gentlemanly fashion, but a drunk & violent 9-stone woman grabbing hold of your particulars is no laughing matter; and if the 'grabbee' is a police officer you'd better brace yourself!

Adam Neilson, Birmingham,

Sounds as if she got what she deserved, it will be interesting to find out exactly what happened. People are sometimes too quick to condemn the police in these drunken incidents.

PaulM , Wales, UK

it is obvious that the officer is using force on the ms comers arm, this is normal practice when dealing with an awkward arrest and when trying to apply handcuffs. this officer was performing a textbook arrest.

stephen, hythe, kent

You know, it wouldn't hurt if people were just a little bit afraid of the police and gave them some respect. If every suspect resisting arrest is given compensation when police use a bit of force then it sends out the wrong message to would be criminals. And the racism card is played everytime - well we're sick of hearing it.

Lindsay, Bristol,

If she hadn't resisted a legitimate arrest, she wouldn't have been hit in that way.
She didn't think they would actually do something like that? She expected them to just let her go if she thrashed around enough??

I agree that there probably should be an investigation to ensure that it was reasonable force however.

Andrew Davie, Huntingdon, Cambs

I was wondering when someone was going to pull the race card....what took them so long?
A police officer has the right to use force in order to subdue a drunken criminal that is resisting arrest.

Bill, Wales,

Two wrongs do not make a right. We read almost constantly of yet another incident of police "over-reaction" so surely there has to be some kind of investigation into the matter regardless? Even if you are an offender, your basic dignity and rights should be adhered to, which it seems, the police in this case did not do.

I for one have grave reservations about the behaviour of the police in this country and I suspect a lot of it has to do with lack of resources and a burgeoning workload. People can only take so much before they snap, and when those people are police officers, then you will have problems such as this.

Jennifer Hynes, Barry, Cymru

I hardly think a drunk wrestling with police officers is really worth reporting, but the fact that there’s a chance of racial motivation and a possibility of her getting compensation it becomes much bigger news, and I ask why.

Drunken people assault the police and get assaulted by the police every weekend in every part of the country, but because here the officer and criminal had different colours of skin it becomes worthy of headline news, surely this is promoting racism rather than discouraging it.

Of course the easy answer would be to put alcohol in its rightful place, at the top of the prohibited drugs list above all those other "dangerous" illegal drugs, but its social acceptability means that its true effects & dangers are never fully appreciated. Just as the positive aspects & non-harmful side of illegal drugs are ignored as they aren't socially acceptable.

Luke Walke-Mitchell, Cambridge, Cambs

It comes as no suprise to me that this event occured. Although no excuse if the woman was actually beaten, the nightclub where the incident occured is not the most salubrious of spots and police presence is usual. It was closed down a couple of years ago and has had a number of problems with hard drugs, guns and violence. The patrons are not the most friendly at times and it is entirely possible that the officer in question was having to act in a more heavy handed fashion than usual. I think too much investigation into an event where a violent and inebriated member of the public had to be subdued will be another waste of tax payers money. Would there be the same furore if the member of the public was male? I think not.

AK, Birmingham,

If I were thrown out of a club for being drunk and decided to smash up a couple of cars, and then grabbed a police office in an unfortunate area, I would fully expect to be restrained using the full force of the law. She deserved everything she got. This woman is looking for a pay off, plain and simple.

Andy, Southampton, UK

No surprise. Tony's police state is almost upon us. We only now need bio ID cards with a smart chip to track us and our sleep walk into the surveillance nightmare will be over by the time we wake up. I may be short sighted but I didn't see the girl move a muscle when being assaulted. She had 3 other cops pinning her down before she was beaten.

Ron Smith, Abingdon, UK

Epileptic and blind drunk? Ms Comer should be crying utter stupidity on her part and not "racism". Criminal damage and attacking the police? Another pathetic attempt at the race card.

Craig H, London,

The policeman had every right to strike this aggressive woman in self defence. She was drunk, by her own admission, and probably high on drugs. Having said that, it's interesting to see the grainy, poor resolution, CCTV pictures being used as evidence against the police. What goes around, comes around.

Paul, Rochester,

Yet another chav out on the town. I reckon she got off very lightly. Maybe if all louts were treated this way, they would think twice about their behaviour.

Sue, Manchester, England

Having watched this video a number of times the force applied by the officer seems controlled (if brutal) and his account seems to make a lot of sense.

In addition to this, if it comes down to believing a police officer or a drunk who’s been ejected from a nightclub, vandalized a car and assaulted a police officer I know where my faith is. I hope we see good sense shine through here.

Michael, London,

Typical heavy handedness of the police today.
What gives them the right to commit assault on a member of the public -whether inebriated or not -and not be charged themselves?
I was arrested in 2004 for breach of the peace - yes i had been drinking but wasnt exactly acting dangerously, the arresting wpc proceeded to assault me once i had -without struggle- allowed myself to be handcuffed "for her own safety" she said.
Obviously this action led to a reaction by me and in the ensuing struggle, (i.e no less then 3 burly police officers suspending me by my arms) i was then deliberately choked by the sergeant.
I have no respect for the police since then - they feel they can use such force to subdue people under arrest and justify it, whereas in the real world its no less than common assault.
They are just louts, and get away with it by hiding behind a uniform.

Good luck Ms Comer, at least you have evidence.

Mark, Warrington, UK

i do not think that the lady should have been assaulted like this by 3 policman
if this is common practice by police officers i dont want to live in this country any more
i am 75 white and worked hard all my life
i am sickened by what i saw last night
they could have killed this young black lady
it to me is GBH
WHY CAN THE 3 POLICE GET AWAY WITH IT?

h jones, fleet , hants

This woman was violently aggressive, drunk and totally disorderly.I do not approve of Policemen striking the citizenry,but I was attacked by a drunken woman some years ago, and I was amazed at the strength and ferocity of it.
Policemen are under enormous stress in situations like this,they are condemned if they do use physical force; but what was this officer to do, stand there and take it?

Michael Rigby, Chorley, England

Ah, bless her. A drunken chav yob gets a sudden sharp shock when she finds out her behaviour is not acceptable. Now we are supposed to feel sorry for her? No. She acted like an animal, she deserves to be treated like one

Joe Bloggs, Manchester,