US police beat suspect 27 times in second incident

The FBI is investigating an incident in Oklahoma City in which two white police officers were filmed hitting a black suspect 27 times with their batons.

The announcement comes as a grand jury in Los Angeles opened investigations into an incident two days earlier in Inglewood in which a white policeman was filmed slamming a black teenager on a car bonnet and punching him.

The incident in Oklahoma happened on Monday when two officers – Greg Driskill and E J Dyer arrested a suspect, allegedly trying to solicit a prostitute. The suspect, Donald Pete, who weighs more than 21 stones, resisted the officers who used pepper spray and beat him with their batons in an effort to subdue him.

The arrest was captured on film by Brian Bates, known locally as a "video vigilante"who sells such footage to local television shows. The video shows the two officers striking the suspect until they are able to handcuff him. Earlier this week, the Oklahoma City police chief, MT Berry, said the incident in Inglewood had prompted him to contact the FBI, but he does not believe the Oklahoma case was as serious. He said: "Our investigation into the use of force is ongoing. But the techniques I saw were those that our officers are taught at the academy. I did not observe strikes to areas of the body that are prohibited, such as the face or head. I know there have been some associations made in the media between here and Inglewood. There are some big differences. In California, the subject is handcuffed when the incident occurs. In our case, once the individual is handcuffed, the force stops."

Marty Stupka, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter, said : "We have a use-of-force model and they followed it. None of those blows were meant to cause injury. Pain but not serious injury."

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People said it was appalled. A representative said: "This is something that is continuous. It's repetitive and it never changes. The police say it's their policy. That policy has to change."

In Inglewood, Donovan Jackson, 16, and his father, Coby Chavis, have filed a federal civil rights suit against two law enforcement agencies and several officers over the incident in which the teenager was slammed against the front of a police car.