Four police officers are being investigated by Stuttgart prosecutors after a video was posted online showing them attacking a man for refusing to stub out a cigarette.

Prosecutors confirmed on Wednesday that two of the officers had already been taken off the beat and had been assigned desk jobs while the investigation takes place.

The video was shot at the scene of a traffic accident on Willy Brandt Strasse on February 19th, prosecutors confirmed. In the footage, police officers can be heard asking a man who was involved in the accident to put out his cigarette.

When the man refuses, the officers pull him to the ground. Another joins in from behind and begins hammering his baton against the man’s backside. A further officer, who had pinned the man down around his neck, can then be seen punching him repeatedly in the area of his head.

The attack is shown at about 3:18 minutes into the following video:

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