Black man, 70, suffers facial injuries in Bromley arrest

Errol Dixon, who lives in Shortlands, says he was dragged to the floor, punched multiple times in the face and kneed in the back, after being stopped on Blythe Road at around 12pm on Monday, September 13.

Police are accusing Mr Dixon of assaulting a police officer, who they say suffered an eye injury.

The Met has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the incident, which hospitalised the pensioner.

Mr Dixon was bandaged by officers at the scene

Errol’s son David, 42, rushed to the scene after a police officer answered the 70-year-old’s phone to find his father bandaged and bleeding from the head.

He told News Shopper: “I saw my dad’s face smashed to pieces.

“I was distraught and scared in equal measure because of his health issues.

“I genuinely thought he was going to die from the injuries.”

Mr Dixon, who weighs around 9 stone and is 5 foot 7, has had two heart attacks and two strokes.

He claims that he was pulled over on Blythe Road after being followed by a patrol car for around 15 seconds.

After exiting his car, Mr Dixon says officers asked him to move over to an area covered by trees.

Mr Dixon, a Windrush generation immigrant from Jamaica, said he did not feel safe doing so, pulling away from an officer.

At this point, he alleges that he was dragged to the floor, punched multiple times in the face and kneed in the back, before being handcuffed.

The Met claims that Mr Dixon “became involved in a struggle with an officer during which the officer sustained an injury to his eye.”

He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

By the time David arrived, the officers had wrapped a bandage around his father’s head wound and were dabbing his bleeding eye.

Errol claims he suffered a broke nose, fractured cheek bone and fractured eye socket

They then waited around an hour for ambulance to arrive, eventually driving the 70-year-old to hospital themselves.

A police officer involved in the altercation had allegedly been taken to hospital immediately after the incident in a patrol car.

Mr Dixon was released by police under investigation after receiving treatment.

Errol’s son said: “He’s still very shaken.

“He’s not really eating or sleeping, and just generally feeling very nervous.

“He came over in the Windrush generation.”

A spokesperson for the Met said: “We are aware of a post on Instagram relating to the arrest of a man following a vehicle stop on Blyth Road in Bromley.

“Shortly after midday on Monday, 13 September, officers on routine patrol stopped a vehicle with a broken brake light.

“After exiting the vehicle, the driver became involved in a struggle with an officer during which the officer sustained an injury to his eye.

“The driver, a 70-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

“He sustained a facial injury during the struggle and was given first aid by officers before being transported to a south London hospital.

“He was later discharged from hospital before being taken to a police station from where he was released under investigation.

“The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.”

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