Four officers were reported to have been charged* on Monday over the arrest of Black music producer Michel Zecler, who was shown being beaten for several minutes in video footage, reports Deutsche Welle.
An examining magistrate in Paris charged* three officers with "willful violence by a person holding public authority" and "forgery," a judicial source told news agency AFP.
Video footage showed how music producer Zecler was repeatedly beaten by three officers and subjected to racial abuse as he tried to enter his music studio earlier this month.
A fourth officer, suspected of having thrown a tear gas grenade into the basement of the building where the attack took place, was charged* with "willful violence."
Prosecutors requested pre-trial detention for the three suspected of carrying out the beating, with a judicial review for the fourth.
The officers face charges* of intentional violence, racial abuse and posting a false police statement.
A lawyer for some of the officers, Laurent-Franck Lienard, challenged their continued detention, telling French news channel BFM the trio believed the force used was unavoidable.
The lawyer's remarks contradicted comments made by Paris' top prosecutor, Rémy Heitz, who said that the officers admitted to using excessive force during the arrest.
"As they were being interrogated several times, they changed their version and finally admitted that they used disproportionally much force to arrest the music producer," DW correspondent Lisa Louis said, citing remarks made by prosecutors.
Read more of this report from Deutsche Welle.
* Editor's note: Under a change to the French legal system introduced in 1993, a magistrate can decide a suspect should be 'placed under investigation' (mis en examen), which is a status one step short of being charged (inculpé), if there is 'serious or concordant' evidence that they committed a crime. Some English-language media describe this status, peculiar to French criminal law, as that of being charged. In fact, it is only at the end of an investigation that a decision can be made to bring charges, in which case the accused is automatically sent for trial.