Police went to handcuff a man as he lay dying in the road after being hit by a patrol car, eyewitnesses said.

Arthur Hoelscher-Ermert, 27, died at the scene after he was hit by a Sussex Police vehicle on Saturday night.

One witness said police put the cuffs on him as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

In harrowing video shot by onlookers, the man can be heard crying out.  

In another video, an onlooker can be heard shouting: ‘You’ve killed the man, you’ve killed the man.’

In one video filmed at the scene, police can be seen kneeling on Mr Hoelscher-Ermert while he is face down on the road.

In a second clip, he is on his back while a female officer does chest compressions.

An eyewitness who gave his name as Matt said he was having a cigarette with two friends outside a pub 200 feet away when Mr Hoelscher-Ermert was struck.

‘A black BMW and a blue Audi came round the corner and straight away I said; there’s the Old Bill,’ he said.

‘Their blue lights came on and the BMW swerved over the road and hit this bloke.

‘They must’ve been going about 30mph. The bloke was halfway across the road.’

Matt, who filmed the scene on his phone, said: ‘He was rolling around on the floor in pain and in shock.

‘There was a pool of blood around him and they were still trying to cuff him.

‘My friend held his head till he died.

‘The copper who was driving the car didn’t know what to do.

‘I had to stop filming because the guy just died in front of me. I felt sick that night and couldn’t sleep.’

Police search teams were examining the scene with sniffer dogs on Sunday morning.

Another man who was close-by said he knew Mr Hoelscher-Ermert.

The man, who gave his name as Jason, said: ‘He is a bit of a lad, like myself.

‘I don’t care what anybody has done, it doesn’t give them the right.

‘Whatever it was, it’s for the courts to decide. They haven’t got the right to mow him down like that.’

Flowers, cards and bottles of beer were left around the signpost of Bramber Avenue in Peacehaven, near where Mr Holscher-Ermert died.

Karl Holscher-Ermert, Arthur’s older brother, thanked a crowd for attending on Monday afternoon.

He said ‘none of it adds up’ and he ‘want answers’ from Sussex Police.

The 30-year-old, from Newhaven, said: ‘It’s like something out of a movie, none of it feels real. It doesn’t make any sense how he has ended up dead.

‘We will pursue it, we will go as long as it takes and get to the bottom of it.

‘What I have been left with is a dead brother and a 15 grand funeral bill. Nothing from the police.

‘He knew so many people. He had so many friends’ children in his heart, he would buy them trainers.

‘A lot of people where we come from don’t have a lot of money but he had a heart for the community. He always has had a really kind heart.’

A spokesman for Sussex Police said a man died following a collision with the police vehicle on the A259 at Peacehaven just after 11.10pm.

He sustained serious injuries and the air ambulance was called out, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Superintendent Jo Banks said: ‘This is a tragic incident and we are fully supporting the IOPC investigation.

‘We want to thank drivers and residents for their patience while the A259 South Coast Road was closed.’

A police spokesman said: ‘As the incident involved a police vehicle, the matter has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who will carry out an independent investigation.’

A spokesman for the IOPC said: ‘We have begun an independent investigation into police actions prior to a fatal road traffic collision involving a pedestrian on Dorothy Avenue in Peacehaven, Lewes last night.

‘A man in his 20s sadly died at the scene.

‘We were notified of the incident by Sussex Police and sent investigators to the scene and the police post incident procedures to begin our enquiries.

‘Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this time.’

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