Videos posted to social media appear to show a male officer being pinned to the ground and kicked, before a female officer intervenes. A fight then happened about one minute between two officers and a group of men.
Wednesday’s incident drew sharp responses from the British police association and Interior Minister Priti Patel, who wrote on Twitter that the attack was “sickening, shocking, and embarrassing.”
“We are not pockets of society,” Metropolitan Police Federation chairman Ken Marsh said in a statement. “On this occasion, our colleagues fortunately reported only minor injuries – but the reality could be far worse.”
Metropolitan police confirmed on Thursday that two men had been arrested.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Attacks on our police will not be tolerated.” He added: “These brave officers are doing their job and helping the community – I hope they recover quickly.”
Khan has supported the protests, which caused tens of thousands to take to the streets of London and other British cities, but he condemned the small number of demonstrators involved in tense scenes with officers.
