Three police officers who assaulted petrol station attendants in Kisumu are being investigated.
The Administration Police officers are said to have been harassing members of the public at Hass petrol station, located near Kibuye market, and in the process injured two attendants and a driver.
The incident that was caught on CCTV cameras took place on Saturday morning. Also affected were young men who usually load trucks and buses.
The 5am incident left one of the petrol attendants with a plaster on his fractured arm.
One of the station's attendants, Beda Karani, said the officers terrorised them for over 20 minutes, and would not listen to them.
"The officers came and parked their Land Cruiser next to the petrol station, walked in and started beating up the loaders and accusing them of being thieves making them scamper for their safety," said the attendant.
After the loaders took off, the APs turned on the petrol station staff who was trying to stop them from beating the loaders. They were bundled into the Land Cruiser and taken to the Kisumu Central Police Station.
Mr Karani has a swollen thigh and arm and is suffering from back pains resulting from the beating he received from the officers.
His supervisor, Wilforce Obuge, had his arm fractured as he was trying to block the baton used on Karani.
Kisumu Central OCPD Christopher Mshimba said he was informed of the incident, which he was still treating as an allegation.
Mr Mshimba confirmed that the APs arrested the injured attendants and the driver.
"The officers said they were chasing after a suspected criminal who might have hidden among the loaders and traders at the petrol station. They then asked the traders to surrender the suspect but they did not oblige leading to a scuffle that resulted in the injuries," he said.
He, however, stated that there were conflicting statements from both parties that warranted and an inquiry.
"We have opened up an inquiry to determine the truth about what really happened at Hass. The results will determine the course of action against any of the parties," said Mshimba.
