Belgium's aviation police chief has been moved to an administrative department following outrage over images of a policewoman apparently performing a Nazi salute as colleagues restrained an injured inmate who later died.
The removal of federal aviation police chief Danny Elst would last until an investigation into the circumstances was concluded, news agency Belga reported on Saturday.
He is the second high-ranking police staff to temporarily step aside from his duties, after the number two Belgian federal police official Andre Desenfants resigned from his position until the end of the investigations.
The deceased inmate, Slovakian Jozef Chovanec, was arrested at Charleroi airport in 2018, according to media reports.
Once in custody, the 38-year-old banged his head against the cell wall until he was bleeding, footage obtained and published by outlet Het Laatste Nieuws on Wednesday showed.
The footage shows multiple police staff restraining him, while one policewoman dances and later performs the apparent Nazi salute.
New inquiry
Chovanec was resuscitated, but fell into coma and died, according to media reports.
The wife of the deceased inmate, Henrieta Chovancova, has demanded a new inquiry into his death.
A court case is ongoing. A lawyer for three of the police personnel told news agency Belga that her clients had acted correctly and were not responsible for Chovanec's death.
The policewoman who performed the Nazi salute has been moved to a different department that had little interaction with the police.
