Colombia apologises for police brutality after deadly riots

Colombia's defence minister has publicly apologised for police brutality after the death of a man in custody sparked two nights of deadly rioting in the capital Bogota and other cities.

At least 13 people have been killed and more than 400 wounded during widespread disturbances after a video released on social media showed Javier Ordonez being repeatedly tasered by police during a street arrest. He later died in custody.

Flanked by police commanders at a news conference, Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo expressed his "pain and indignation" over the death of Ordonez, an engineer and father of two in his 40s who was studying to become a lawyer.

"The national police apologise for any violation of the law or ignorance of the regulations incurred by any of the members of the institution," said Trujillo, the minister with responsibility for the police.

A lawyer for the victim's family claimed Ordonez had died after being brutally beaten at a police station, following the repeated taser shocks.

Ordonez is heard repeatedly crying "please, no more" in the widely circulated footage of his arrest, taken by a friend.

"I have photos of how they left the victim. Javier was massacred, the crime of aggravated homicide and the crime of torture was committed," lawyer Vadith Gomez told Bogota's Radio Blu.

Ordonez's family said he had gone out to buy alcohol when he was arrested.

Internal investigation

Police authorities have opened an internal investigation against two uniformed officers "for the alleged crime of abuse of authority and homicide," the defence minister said.

Trujillo told the news conference that five other police officers had been suspended from duty.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the police's "excessive" use of force in response to the demonstrations, saying the right to peaceful protest was "essential to any democracy."

He called for an investigation so those responsible can be "brought to justice, and institutional measures taken to avoid any repetition."

READ MORE: Several killed in protests over police custody death in Colombia

Protests in cities

Meanwhile, demonstrators planned a third straight night of protests on Friday as the death toll from two nights of violence rose to 13.

Street protests first erupted in several areas of the capital late Wednesday and quickly turned violent as video of Ordonez's mistreatment circulated.

Rioting also erupted in the cities of Medellin and Cali.

Police were accused of opening fire on protesters, and most of the 13 dead had suffered gunshot wounds, according to the office of Bogota's leftist mayor, Claudia Lopez.

A number of videos circulating on social networks showed uniformed officers being attacked by demonstrators and responding with gunfire.

The government accused demonstrators of "systematic and coordinated vandalism," but Lopez slammed the police for using live fire to quell the protests, saying 68 people had suffered gunshot wounds.

"There is solid evidence of the indiscriminate use of firearms by the police," the mayor said.

Hundreds wounded

Authorities reported a total of 209 protesters wounded as well as 194 police. Dozens of police posts, as well as police and municipal vehicles, were destroyed.

"This is not a problem that comes only from now. It is a problem that we have always had with the police and military forces," said Bogota resident Jose Maria Builes.

"Excessive force has always been used here," he said.

For many Colombians, the Ordonez case evoked the killing in the United States in May of African American George Floyd, who suffocated after being pinned by the neck to the road under the knee of a white officer.

Seven people aged between 17 and 27 years old died after being shot in Bogota during protests on Wednesday, according to the mayor's office, while the national government says three were killed the same night in Soacha.

Family members of some of the Bogota victims told local media their loved ones had not been participating in the protests.

Three further people died in connection with the protests on Thursday night, including a woman who was hit by a stolen public bus, officials said.

Bogota Mayor Lopez will meet with President Ivan Duque and the inspector general - charged with investigating public officials - later on Friday, she said in a Twitter post.

At least 60 police stations have been affected by vandalism, the government said, as well as dozens of public transport vehicles.

Vandalism and attacks on infrastructure were due to "direct and systematic" actions with clear objectives, Trujillo said.

Ordonez's death has fuelled renewed outrage against the police, who were widely criticised last year after a teenage protester was fatally injured by a riot squad projectile.

READ MORE: Thousands march against president in Colombia