Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Investigation ongoing after two police officers held 2 African guys neck in chokehold while beating them with a baton in Lavapiés Spain, in trending footage.
Leftwing parties in Spain are demanding explanations after a video appeared to show a pair of police officers using violent force on two unarmed black men in a central Madrid neighbourhood.
The video, shot on Friday in Lavapiés, appears to show one of the men on the ground and immobilised by a police officer who seemingly has him in a chokehold. A second police officer appears to then strike the immobilised man twice with a baton before grabbing and punching another man standing nearby.
The anti-racist groups, as well as Sumar and Podemos, have rejected what happened and have assured that there was no justification. This Sunday, at the demonstration, shouting “enough of police violence!” and with signs with messages such as “black lives matter,” the protesters denounced “institutional racism” and “police harassment” against African migrants in the Lavapiés neighborhood. The rally was attended by Serigne Mbayé, Podemos’ anti-racism secretary, and Julio Rodríguez, also from Ione Belarra’s party and former chief of the Defense Staff.
As video of the encounter swiftly spread across social media, a police source told the Europa Press news agency that the two men had been arrested for undermining authority. The source described the men as being “hostile” towards the officers and said one of the officers had been injured. One of those arrested was later found to have drugs on him, the source claimed.
The reactions have continued this Monday. On the one hand, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has supported the Police. “Unless there is evidence to the contrary, my confidence in the State Security Forces and Corps is total. And, therefore, we will have to see that report and we will have to see, if applicable, the consequences that may arise,” Almeida said this Monday after visiting a sports center in the district of Salamanca. On the other hand, the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has asked for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior. “In all these years he has not lifted a single finger to end police brutality with racist overtones, which is what we saw last week in Lavapiés,” Belarra said this Monday from Vitoria.