Addis Ababa police says it has arrested police members linked to incident in Nifas Silk area a clip of which became viral video
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borkena
August 27, 2019
A viral video released on social media on Sunday, August 26, 2019, has stirred public anger. The video features a handcuffed man being beaten by police while another police shots fired into the air.
An elderly woman, unclear if she is related to the man who was being beaten, confronted the young police while other younger bystanders were hesitating to intervene.
The police who was beating the man then moved to manhandle the elderly women who happened to be at the scene and protested that police should not beat a handcuffed man who was already on the ground.
The incident triggered public anger for three days now.
After investigating the incident, Addis Ababa police commission apologized on Tuesday for attack two of its members perpetrated in Nifas Silk area of Ethiopia’s capital, according to a report by state media Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC).
Based on the narrative from the city’s police commission, Police got involved in the situation following a dispute between individuals who were fighting overworking right in the part of Addis Ababa where the incident happened. While one group claim that “they work legal commission work”, the other group who are local to the area claim that they have a right to work too for it is their neighborhood.
And police members, according to a report by EBC, which cited deputy director of Addis Ababa Police Commission Indoctrination and Public relation director – Fasika Fanta, the individuals who were in disputes were instructed to take the matter to the police station for arbitration but they did not agree with the police.
That is when members of the Addis Ababa police who were on the scene to respond to the situation started beating the individuals.
Fasika Fanta claimed that the individuals were trying to assault the police while the latter were in uniforms and in their law enforcement duties. He went further, in fact, to claim that there was even an attempt to snatch the AK 47 rifle from the police. And police had to fire a shot in the air to control the situation. But all that is not seen in the viral video.
However, the Addis Ababa police commission told Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation that it is investigating the incident and the two police-involved in the incident are arrested.
The commission also disclosed that the two police linked to the incident are new members but did not lack any police training.
Police in Ethiopia is often criticized for being violent and brutal.
Video source : Social Media
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