Australia police investigate video of officers arresting Aboriginal man

Police in South Australia have launched an investigation after an officer was filmed appearing to strike an Aboriginal man during an arrest.

The 28-year-old man was arrested by police in Kilburn, a suburb of Adelaide, on Monday night.

Footage of the arrest shows three officers attempting to hold down and handcuff the man on the ground.

In a video posted to social media, one officer appears to hit the man several times as two others restrain him.

In another video, an officer appears to pin the man against a concrete ledge, while bystanders can be heard shouting "let his head up" and "get off his head".

Grant Stevens, commissioner for South Australia Police, said two of the officers involved in the arrest had been put on administrative leave while an investigation takes place.

The video had "caused concerns" and would be "thoroughly scrutinised", he said.

Aboriginal rights groups have accused the police officers involved of using excessive force.

South Australia's Premier Steven Marshall said he was "concerned" by what he saw in the video.

Recent protests stemming from the Black Lives Matter movement have highlighted the treatment of indigenous people by police in Australia.

Some recent Aboriginal deaths in custody have provoked protests, including that of David Dungay, who was fatally pinned down by five police officers in Sydney in 2015.

No police officer has ever been held criminally responsible for an Aboriginal death in custody in the country.

By Al- Helalee