The video, which was posted to Twitter, depicts a boy, believed to be 15 years old, being restrained in the Superdrug store located on East Street in Chichester. It has been suggested that security personnel used handcuffs to detain the boy.
Police were called to a store on East Street at around 3:30pm following reports of an altercation involving a group of teenagers. Sussex Police have now issued a statement regarding an incident that occurred in Chichester yesterday afternoon.
According to the police statement, a shopworker also reported being assaulted during the incident. Civilian security staff at the store had already detained three teenagers by the time police arrived on the scene.
Two of the teenagers, a 15-year-old boy from Worthing and a 16-year-old boy from Chichester, were subsequently arrested by the police on suspicion of assault. They remain in police custody while urgent enquiries are carried out, supported by appropriate adults.
The police have said that enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what happened.
In a separate statement, Chichester District Council has confirmed that no council staff were involved in the incident.
The incident has been widely shared on social media, with a video showing one of the teenagers being restrained by the civilian security staff. The video has prompted a lot of discussion and speculation online, with many people calling for more information to be released around the incident.
A Superdrug spokesperson told the Mirror newspaper: “An incident occurred today in our Chichester store between Chichester BID Rangers and a group of young males they were monitoring.
“Unfortunately, female staff were also assaulted. This is now a police matter, and we are offering our full assistance to Sussex Police. Our priority is always to keep our colleagues and customers safe, we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violence and aggression. The store remains closed due to damage caused.”
A Sussex Police spokesperson said this afternoon: “On arrival, officers discovered a 15-year-old boy from Worthing had been detained in handcuffs by privately employed civilian security staff. He was arrested on suspicion of assault.
There is no law in the UK that prevents civilians carrying handcuffs. Anyone who does carry handcuffs should be aware that their use could constitute a crime, unless they can show that using them was reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.
We can now clarify that a second teenager – a 16-year-old boy from Chichester – was detained by police in the area and arrested on suspicion of assault, possession of cannabis, and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Both suspects have been released on bail with strict conditions until 24 June, pending further enquiries.
A full and thorough investigation is ongoing to establish the exact circumstances of what happened; this includes reviewing footage and taking witness statements.
Sussex Police has been in contact with the 15-year-old’s mother and contact will be maintained as the investigation continues.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, the events leading up to it or has any relevant footage is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting Operation Ashridge.”
