City defends officers in conflict with vendor

A city's urban management department defended its staff on Tuesday, after a photo posted online showing one of its officers jumping on a man's head drew widespread criticism, People.com.cn reported on Tuesday.

Urban management officers in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, have been accused of using excessive force.

On May 31, a group of officers went to investigate a complaint that bicycles were illegally occupying a street. The officers fought with the bicycle shop owner, surnamed Liu.

Liu, who was injured in the scuffle and remained in a local hospital, said that the officers came to confiscate his bicycles without showing their working documents and beat him when he tried to stop them. He said one of the urban management officers was drunk.

However, Duan Yuting, deputy chief of the management team, said authorities had warned Liu several times about putting his bikes on the street for sale.

Duan said that when officers tried to remove the bikes from the street, Liu became violent.

A female assistant for the urban management department surnamed Zheng was injured and remained in a hospital for medical treatment, and several other management officers also suffered minor injuries.

Duan also said that none of officers was drunk when they went to confront Liu about the bikes.

The case has been reported to police, and an investigation is ongoing.