Three Alabama police officers suspended after violent arrest

By Letitia Stein

(Reuters) - Three Alabama police officers were on administrative leave on Monday after videos appeared to show them using a stun gun and baton in the arrest of several university students, the Tuscaloosa police chief said on Monday, pledging to investigate.

The officers, who were not identified, had responded to loud music call around 3 a.m. on Sunday that escalated into a confrontation with the occupants of an apartment, video posted by local media outlets showed.

The video showed officers using what appeared to be a stun gun and a baton on a young man after forcibly removing him from the apartment.

The incident comes amid wide scrutiny of the use of force by law enforcement officers in the United States, after a series of police killings involving unarmed men drew protests in the last year.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson said his department was investigating the incident, in which three students were arrested.

"I was deeply disturbed by and disappointed in the way our officers responded," he told reporters on Monday afternoon.

The three officers were placed on paid leave, he said. Some officers at the scene wore body cameras, he noted, and the footage would be part of the department's investigation.

The incident involved students at the University of Alabama, the school said on Twitter. University police officers also were among those responding to the initial call.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)