On video: SAfrican police drag man, who later dies

 By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — They bound his hands to the rear of a van, and then sped off, dragging the slender taxi driver along the pavement as a crowd of onlookers shouted in dismay. The man was later found dead.

A gut-wrenching video of the scene is all the more disturbing because the men who abused the Mozambican immigrant were uniformed South African police officers and the van was a marked police vehicle.

The graphic scenes of the victim struggling for his life shocked a nation long accustomed to reports of police violence.

“The visuals of the incident are horrific, disturbing and unacceptable. No human being should be treated in that manner,” said South African President Jacob Zuma.

The Daily Sun, a South African newspaper, posted video the footage Thursday and it was quickly picked up by other South African news outlets and carried on the Internet. It sparked immediate outrage about police behavior.