Istanbul mayor dismisses municipal police chief over beating incident

ISTANBUL

A municipal police chief has been dismissed after beating a municipal official in Istanbul. An investigation has been launched into the police chief, as Istanbul Mayor Mevlüt Uysal slammed the incident on Twitter on Dec. 21.

“The footage displaying ‘violence against the municipal official’ is very saddening and shameful for all of humanity,” Uysal wrote, sharing a post on his Twitter account on early Dec. 22.

“When I saw the footage, I experienced similar emotions to the reactions of our citizens,” read Uysal’s post.

In the disturbing footage recorded by security cameras, the municipal police chief Tayfun Karali first yelled at the municipal official in front of his colleagues and then slapped him in the face.

After Karali left, the beaten municipal official fell to the ground as health teams attempted to help him, according to the security footage.

“Despite their ranks, all employees of the Istanbul Municipality are respectable,” Uysal wrote in his post.

"Our citizens can rest assured that we will be meticulous in doing what is necessary,” Uysal said.

Mevlüt Uysal, the candidate for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), became the new Istanbul metropolitan municipality mayor on Sept. 28 and took over the post on Sept. 29, following the sudden resignation of the former mayor.