A London policeman was caught on camera punching a female shoplifting suspect three times in the head.

The shocking camera footage shows 45-year-old police constable James Kiddie attacking suspected shoplifter Sarah Reed. He grabs her hair, forcing her out of a chair before dragging her to the floor. He then punched her three times in the head as she lay in a corridor trying to protect herself.

Kiddie claimed that he only attacked the victim because she had bitten him on the finger after telling him she was infected with the AIDS virus.

He also told the court that his strikes were 'half power' and he had not wanted to hit her, according to the Daily Mail.

He was convicted of assault last month but was only sentenced to a 12 month community order, which requires him to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work.

The attack took place when Kiddie was called to the Uniqlo clothing store in Regent Street, London, after Reed was detained by security guards in November 2012.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more!

Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS

Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus