4 police officers detained for using violence against disabled person in French Polynesia

By Seyma Yigit

Four police officers in French Polynesia in the South Pacific have been detained on Monday for using violence against a disabled person.

The French High Commissioner's Office reported that an investigation was launched into the violence of police officers against a disabled person in the Polynesian capital Papeete last week.

The statement said the detained police officers were “immediately suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation.”

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said if the police officers are found guilty, they will be severely punished.

Thomas Portes, a parliament member from the leftist France Unbowed (LFI), shared a video on X of the moments when the police used violence against a person in a wheelchair.

Portes stressed that the police used violence “over and over again.”

Images of four police officers knocking a disabled person out of his wheelchair and beating him went viral on social media. French politicians and many internet users reacted to police violence.

French Polynesia has a population of 300,000 and is located about 16,000 kilometers (nearly 10,000 miles) from the mainland.

*Writing by Merve Berker