French police caught red-handed beating black man
France's police watchdog has launched an investigation into an incident that was caught on cameras, showing police officers brutally beating a black man in Paris, over the weekend.
The video footage that was circulating online and was headline news on French television channels, shows the violent arrest of a music producer identified only by his first name, Michel, on Saturday.
Three police officers followed the man inside his music studio after they apparently saw him walking in the street without wearing a mask — against French coronavirus restrictions — French media reported.
The officers are caught on cameras as repeatedly punching Michel and beating him with a truncheon.
They later left the studio and threw a tear gas grenade into the building to get those inside to come out.
Nine other people, according to reports, who were recording music in the studio basement were also beaten.
Michel told reporters that the officers also hurled repeated racist insults at him, and he was taken into custody for 48 hours.
After the video release, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin ordered the suspension of any officers involved in the violent arrest.
Earlier, he said on Twitter that France’s IGPN police watchdog is investigating the allegations.
Michel’s lawyer, Hafida El-Ali, said that her client would be making a formal complaint against the police over the violent incident.
French police have already come under fire this week after people posted videos on social media of officers hitting demonstrators as they cleared a refugee camp in central Paris.
The incident came as President Emmanuel Macron’s government has proposed a controversial security bill that restricts the publication of images of on-duty police officers.
The lower house of the French parliament passed the legislation on Tuesday. The bill will head to the Senate in December.
The proposed legislation has sparked outrage and criticism among journalists and human rights groups across the country and the European Commission, which said that journalists must be able to "work freely and in full security."
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