The South African police watchdog is investigating the death of a man in custody after a newspaper published video footage of him being handcuffed to a police van and dragged along a road.
Amateur video footage obtained by the Daily Sun newspaper shows the man, who South African media say was taxi driver, Mido Macia, a 27-year-old originally from Mozambique, being dragged for around 400m behind their vehicle after being approached by police in Johannebsurg.
The Independent Police Directorate (IPID) have said today they are investigating the death of Mr Macia.
Moses Dlamini of the IPID told eNCA, a South African news channel, that he is "shocked" by the police conduct and that a murder probe is underway.
The IPID also said that Macia died of head and other injuries, including internal bleeding.
The Daily Sun claims jail inmates told them Mr Macia was beaten to death in a police cell.
The video footage shows a large crowd gathering around a police vehicle as a man is handcuffed to the back of it by officers.
The vehicle then reverses before driving away dragging Mr Macia behind.
The graphic footage has renewed concerns about brutality, corruption and other misconduct by a national police force whose reputation has suffered in recent years amid reports that many officers lack training.
Some have been charged with committing the crimes they are supposed to prevent, including rape and murder.
"We are going to film this," several onlookers shouted in Zulu as the police wrestled with Macia.
One bystander can be heard on the videotape shouting in Zulu: ''What has this guy done?"
IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said: "We are still interviewing the witnesses because the allegations are that he was dragged with the police vehicle."
In a statement, the police force said National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega "strongly condemned" what happened.
The statement said people are ''urged to remain vigilant and continue to report all acts of crime irrespective of who is involved."
Phiyega has sought to upgrade the reputation of the South African police. Last month, Phiyega told a group of police officials the standing of the force ''has been severely but not irreparably tarnished over the past several years."
Amateur video footage obtained by the Daily Sun newspaper shows the man, who South African media say was taxi driver, Mido Macia, a 27-year-old originally from Mozambique, being dragged for around 400m behind their vehicle after being approached by police in Johannebsurg.
The Independent Police Directorate (IPID) have said today they are investigating the death of Mr Macia.
Moses Dlamini of the IPID told eNCA, a South African news channel, that he is "shocked" by the police conduct and that a murder probe is underway.
The IPID also said that Macia died of head and other injuries, including internal bleeding.
The Daily Sun claims jail inmates told them Mr Macia was beaten to death in a police cell.
The video footage shows a large crowd gathering around a police vehicle as a man is handcuffed to the back of it by officers.
The vehicle then reverses before driving away dragging Mr Macia behind.
The graphic footage has renewed concerns about brutality, corruption and other misconduct by a national police force whose reputation has suffered in recent years amid reports that many officers lack training.
Some have been charged with committing the crimes they are supposed to prevent, including rape and murder.
"We are going to film this," several onlookers shouted in Zulu as the police wrestled with Macia.
One bystander can be heard on the videotape shouting in Zulu: ''What has this guy done?"
IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said: "We are still interviewing the witnesses because the allegations are that he was dragged with the police vehicle."
In a statement, the police force said National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega "strongly condemned" what happened.
The statement said people are ''urged to remain vigilant and continue to report all acts of crime irrespective of who is involved."
Phiyega has sought to upgrade the reputation of the South African police. Last month, Phiyega told a group of police officials the standing of the force ''has been severely but not irreparably tarnished over the past several years."
Source : Independent
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