Belgian police officer is filmed brutally slapping handcuffed woman across the face during arrest in case that has sparked fury

A video showing the moment a police officer brutally slapped a handcuffed woman across the face while she was being arrested has sparked fury in Belgium. The clip, which has racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media, shows three cops attempting to place the woman into a police van.But when the woman, who is shown wearing handcuffs, refuses to enter the vehicle, a male police officer violently slaps her across the face before forcefully shoving her into the van.The incident, which unfolded in the Nivelles municipality of the Walloon Brabant province, has sparked fury across Belgium as the video was shared on social media, with several viewers condemning the officer's use of violence. 'The police have no right to slap,' one viewer commented on X. Another said: 'It's exactly these behaviours why the police are no longer respected.''Belgian police are violating EU laws and human rights by beating civilians,' a third wrote, while another added: 'This is absolutely not right.'However, other viewers came to the police officer's defence, arguing that he had no other option when the woman resisted force. A Belgian police officer is captured just moments before he slapped a female detainee in the face The officer is seen swinging his hand towards the woman's face The cop then forcefully slaps the woman across the face before shoving her into the police vehicle, footage shows 'You can't maintain order if criminals aren't afraid of the police... I don't see anything wrong here at all,' one X user wrote. Another social media user said: 'They've put on the handcuffs, so why would you refuse to get in the car after that moment? The goal is to provoke the police, create violence, and turn the unjust into the justified—there's no other purpose anyway. The police did the right thing.''Applying violence in moderation seems acceptable to me,' an X user added. Nivelles Mayor, Bernard De Ro, said an internal investigation had been launched, adding that the probe will establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The investigation will review what happened before the footage was recorded and why the police officer used force against the woman. Prosecutors urged the public not to form opinions on footage circulating online, saying: 'An investigation that begins on social media is not conducive to a thorough inquiry.'It is currently not known why the woman was detained in the first place. The violent incident involving a police officer comes just days after a French cop came under investigation after a video emerged showing him throwing a man to the ground, causing him to hit his head. The cop appears to push the woman into the police van, this video grab shows The 29-year-old man died less than two weeks later, following the incident on June 21 at a music festival in Carcassonne, France. At first, authorities denied that there was any link between the officer's actions and the man's death.'Based on the current state of the investigation, there is no (...) causal link between the events recorded and the death that occurred 13 days later,' the prosecutor's office said.'An investigation into the causes of death is underway, while the autopsy carried out on July 9, 2026 ruled out any suspicious injuries indicating the intervention of a third party and indicated the most likely toxic cause.'But an investigation into the intentional use of violence by a person exercising public authority was launched after the video sparked public outrage.The clip, shared widely on social media, shows five police officers surrounding a man before one officer grabs him by the collar and throws him to the ground.The man is then seen curled up in a fetal position, clutching his head as angry bystanders attempt to intervene.Local media reported that the man suffered an open wound to his head and was later taken into care by emergency personnel.