http://www.euronews.com/ South Africa has suspended eight police officers over the death of a taxi driver who was tied to the back of a truck and dragged through the streets of Johannesburg.

The incident was filmed by a member of the public and broadcast on television, sparking outrage at police brutality. People from the Daveyton township, east of Johannesburg, protested outside a local police station.

One of them, local resident Glan Mahatlane said: “I do think that the government should take a tough stance, I think people should be treated with dignity irrespective of where they come from whether they are South African citizens or they are people who are coming form other countries.”

Thabiso Mopatlane, another angry resident, complained that police think they can get away with illegal activity: “With regard to police brutality, I think it needs to stop because police actually get away with it quite a lot, and as you saw in the video nobody could do anything about it because they think they are above the law.”

The video shows the ordeal of Mido Macia, 27, from Mozambique. He is seen being tied to a van by uniformed policeman and then dragged by his arms along the road as the vehicle is driven away. Police report that he had been arrested for obstructing traffic and resisting arrest.

Macia was later found dead in a police cell with serious head and internal injuries.

*’Disturbing and unacceptable’*

President Jacob Zuma and opposition politicians have condemned the incident, caught on video on Tuesday and broadcast nationwide on Thursday.

“The visuals of the incident are horrific, disturbing and unacceptable. No human being should be treated in that manner,” Zuma said of what he called “the tragic death of a man in the hands of the police”.

It was the latest in a series of scandals to hit South Africa’s police force in recent months.

The lead detective in the murder case against Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was removed from the investigation when it emerged he was facing seven attempted murder charges for allegedly opening fire on a minibus full of passengers.

Police shot dead 34 striking workers at a platinum mine in August last year – the deadliest security incident since apartheid ended in 1994.

More than 1,200 people a year die while in South African police custody.

*Warning: this video shows graphic images of a man being dragged behind a vehicle*

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