The Paris police chief is disbanding a special police unit in a poor suburb of the French capital after four officers were brought before a judge on Thursday for "particularly serious" accusations involving theft, drug possession and extorting money from drug dealers, reports The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Paris police said in a statement that it will review the functioning of special police units so that they have a closer cooperation with local police forces. Procedures for recruitment of officers in these units will also be reviewed, it said.
News of the investigation has re-ignited French anger over police abuse, after weeks of protests in France demanding racial justice and accountability for officers who overstep their authority.
The four officers with the CSI 93 unit in the Seine-Saint-Denis region north-east of Paris are the subject of a formal judicial inquiry.
In addition, about 15 other preliminary investigations are underway into officers at the unit for similar alleged violations, judicial authorities said.
Read more of this AP report published by The Minneapolis Star Tribune.