The GNR has announced an immediate internal inquiry after a taxpayer was rendered unconscious at a Finanças office.
The incident happened in Montijo just south of Lisbon when a Brazilian is alleged to have been offensive to tax officials, something he denies.
An off-duty GNR officer decided to grab the man around the neck, a violent action that was filmed and posted live on Facebook.
Police said that they have decided to investigate the matter further “based on the resulting footage,” which shows the customer being choked until he is rendered unconscious.
The GNR’s Independent Socio-Professional Association is to carry out an "unbiased investigation."
The customer was trying to get answers from Finanças staff to his questions and was filming the interaction for his Facebook page.
"The GNR confirms the detention of a citizen who had an improper and offensive attitude towards the employees of the Finanças office in Montijo," according to a GNR statement which appears to prejudge the events that led to the man’s incapacitation.
The GNR added that in view of the circumstances witnessed in the images, it was decided to "investigate the circumstances of the citizen's arrest, in order to determine any responsibilities."
"We hope that the alleged assaults on a Brazilian citizen by a GNR officer in the Montijo Finanças office will be investigated without prejudice and according to the interpretation of the law," read the statement issued to news agency, Lusa, by the Independent Socio-Professional Association.
The association maintains also that GNR officers, in uniform or off-duty, are "obliged to resort to the use of force when it proves to be legitimate, necessary, adequate and proportional to the objective."
"The association hopes that the act allegedly committed by the officer has not exceeded the legal limits and that the officer’s conduct, given his determination to enforce the rights of citizens, deserves public praise."
This evening the Public Prosecutor's Office issued a statement confirming it is to investigate the events which led to the GNR officer 'detaining a man in the Finanças office.'
The Minister of Internal Administration has asked the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration to open an investigation into the circumstances.
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