This is so clearly assault, who could watch this video and not see the guy being punched in the back whilst he's held to the ground.
Ignoring the newspaper coverage and the fact he's a war veteran, I wonder if everyone would be so outraged if it was just "drunken yob pinned and punched by policemen"? At the start, what was he saying that riled the two policemen plus hobby-bobby Light-of-Foot... Was it:
a) "Oh dear, I appear to have succumbed to the multitude of beverages I have consumed throughout the course of the evening. Officers, I vouchsafe that I shall return to my domicile with due haste, venturing only from the most direct route in order to procure a delectable skewered lamb sandwich with lashings of chilli sauce and a sizeable portion of refreshing salad upon the side."
or
b) "Eh! You! Y'fuggggger, fuggin p**f in yer t*t-shaped *BURP* hat. Yeh! I'll take the lot of yers on yer f-f-f-f-fuggen *BURP* b-b-b-b-STAAAAHDS!!!"
Nights out will only be trouble-free and police-free when you don't get morons going out to get drunk/coked-up and have a "fight" (aka common assault on a passer by) regardless of whether or not they are a soldier. Police can't go about knocking heads but at the same time I laugh my a**e off every time I see a gobby g*t being rough-handled by the police or being physically thrown out of a nightclub. It's a delightful paradox.
I hope I'm wrong and he was saying something innocuous. If only the CCTV had sound.