The Inspectorate-General for Internal Administration (IGAI) today opened an investigation into the use of force in a police intervention in which several PSP officers were filmed assaulting young people during an arrest in Setúbal.
The Inspector General for Internal Administration, Anabela Cabral Ferreira, told Lusa that the IGAI had taken over the investigation process opened by the Setúbal command of the Public Security Police due to “the violence” of the images showing several officers beating up suspected car thieves in Setúbal.
One of the IGAI’s competencies is to take ownership of investigation cases opened by the security forces.
The case happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the PSP was informed that five people had stolen a car on a street in Setúbal.
According to the PSP, when officers arrived at the scene they came across “a car in the middle of the road with its lights off”. One of the five suspects managed to escape, but the other four were apprehended.
The PSP also says that three of the suspects, aged between 17 and 18, have been arrested and the fourth suspect is a minor and has been handed over to his mother.
The PSP in Setúbal also said that it “only became aware” of the video on Wednesday morning, having “set up an internal investigation to ascertain the appropriateness and proportionality of the use of force” by the police. This investigation has now been taken over by the IGAI.
The video posted on social media shows the police using force on the suspects, who were on the ground next to the vehicle.
