A Police officer used "tremendous force" to kick 28-year-old Troy Smith in the head several times, according to an official complaint filed by the alleged victim's lawyer.

The grievance was sent to the Police Complaints Authority on Friday, the same day Mr. Smith left King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after being treated for a broken nose, two broken cheekbones, a broken bone above one of his eyelids and a sprained jaw.

The father-of-one claims he was badly beaten by a Police constable who arrived with another officer at his family's home in Plaice's Point Road, Spanish Point, to deal with a domestic dispute in the early hours of Sunday, July 4.

Bermuda Police Service said Mr. Smith was acting violently and turned his violence towards Police before being subdued with a Taser device.

The Service has launched a criminal investigation into his allegation and both officers were removed from full operational duties at the end of last week.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Jackman said yesterday: "The investigation into the matter is ongoing. Investigators have interviewed Mr. Smith and anticipate that the investigation will be completed in due course."

The Royal Gazette has seen a copy of the letter sent by Mr. Smith's lawyer Graveney Bannister to the chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, the independent body which investigates complaints about officers. The grievance was also copied to the Police Commissioner.

Mr. Bannister writes that an eyewitness saw one of the officers kick Mr. Smith in the head as he lay on the ground with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

"My instructions are they [Police] Tasered my client on arrival after asking him to drop a short stick he was using earlier to defend himself against a tenant downstairs — his cousin.

"[The cousin] had broken the glass in a lower floor door to the house and had a helmet threatening my client."

The letter claims that "without asking questions or finding out who was the aggressor" the officers Tasered Mr. Smith and demanded he drop the two-foot croquet stick.

"My client, I am instructed, was backing away from the Police. They then each focused the red beam on my client's head and chest. This was followed by the officers pepper spraying my client, then using the wasp baton to beat my client across his leg, causing welts (swelling).

"[One officer] then was seen to back up and kick my client in the head several times with tremendous force."

The letter states that Mr. Smith visited KEMH three times for treatment after suffering multiple facial injuries in the alleged attack.

Mr. Bannister concludes: "This, in our view, is a classic case of excessive force being used by Police. I wish this matter to be addressed expeditiously, especially the despicable act of kicking my client."

Police Complaints Authority chairman Michelle St. Jane said yesterday she had just returned to the Island and would need to check on the complaint before commenting.

Mr. Smith's mother Gena Robinson said her son — who had two hours of surgery at KEMH to repair bones in his face — was recovering at home but still had blurred vision and headaches and would see a specialist later this week.