A South African police officer charged with murdering a taxi driver who was dragged from a police vehicle has testified that the man insulted him and grabbed a fellow officer’s gun.

Eight officers allegedly involved in the death of a man who was bound and then dragged by a police vehicle have been suspended and the local police commander has been removed from his post, South Africa’s police chief has announced.

His hands are tied to the rear of a police van while his body lies behind it, on the ground. The van speeds off, dragging the slender man along the pavement as a crowd of onlookers shouts in dismay and at least one videotapes the scene. He is later found dead in a police cell.

South Africa’s police watchdog is investigating the death of a man who was apparently filmed being handcuffed to the back of a police van and dragged along the ground.

Two people have died after clashes between police and striking miners in South Africa, including a local councillor who was apparently an innocent bystander.