Police watch dog to probe arrest of black woman pinned to the floor during arrest in front of jewellery store.

The policing watchdog in the UK is set to look into concerns over the arrest of a black woman after she was held on the ground by multiple officers outside a shop in Hertfordshire following an altercation at a jewellery shop.

Police were sent to the scene on Saturday following reports of a woman being verbally abusive and physically aggressive at the jewellers on Shenley Road, with local media reporting she had allegedly been antisemitic towards a member of staff and had damaged a plastic protective screen.

However the response of the police, which saw two officers pin the woman to the ground as she was handcuffed, was seen by some bystanders as an example of an alleged culture of heavy-handed responses by authorities towards black people.

The incident comes in the wake of the death of  George Floyd at the hands of the police, sparking an international movement challenging racism in society and the treatment of black people by the criminal justice system.

In footage of the Hertfordshire arrest the 32-year-old, who was visibly distressed while handcuffed on the pavement, could be heard saying "all I wanted was together my refund, that's all I wanted".