CID officers detained after 'brutal arrest'

AMMAN — Police Chief Maj. Gen. Ahmad Faqih on Wednesday referred several Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers for questioning and detention in connection with alleged police brutality during an arrest in Irbid.

The decision came following complaints of reported police brutality and the emergence of a viral video clip purportedly showing several individuals beating up three men in a coffee shop and damaging the shop during an attempted arrest, a senior police official said.

"The video clip shows some of the CID individuals abusing their power while arresting the men and the police chief immediately ordered an investigation into the incident," the senior source told The Jordan Times.

Faqih ordered that the men be referred to the concerned prosecutor for questioning and that they remain in custody until the investigation is complete, the source added.

"All the individuals who were subjected to beating by the undercover police are listed in good condition," the source said.

The police official stressed that anyone found responsible will "receive the appropriate punishment as these actions do not represent the police and are not tolerated”.

A Public Security Department (PSD) statement said a CID undercover police force headed to the coffee shop in Irbid, 80km north of Amman, after receiving a complaint on Tuesday night from an individual saying "he was being blackmailed by another man to sign a JD85,000 bill of exchange over an old company ownership".

"The CID officers headed to the coffee shop and, while in the process of arresting the suspects, acts of violence were committed and the officers retaliated with force to arrest them," the PSD statement noted.

The statement added that the prosecutor is investigating the cases of blackmail and use of force separately.