South African police officers implicated in the death of a Mozambican taxi driver dragged down a street tied to a back of a van have been suspended.

The incident was recorded by a bystander and broadcast on television. The man later died in police custody.

Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega thanked people for revealing “callous and unacceptable behavior,” according to the BBC.

President Jacob Zuma had earlier condemned the incident as “horrific” and “unacceptable”.

A post-mortem found that Taxi driver Mido Macia, 27, died of head injuries and internal bleeding after his arrest in Daveytown, east of Johannesburg. He was reportedly detained for parking his vehicle in a way that blocked traffic.

The video that exposed the satanic police officers shows a large crowd gathering, as uniformed policemen tie Macia to a van, dragging him as they drive away.

Commissioner Phiyega said that the eight officers allegedly involved had been suspended and disarmed and the local station commander had been removed from his post.

The South African Police Service in a statement expressed “extreme shock and outrage” at the mobile phone footage, saying: “From the video which has gone viral, it is obvious that the rights of Mido Macia were violated in the most extreme form. The behaviour displayed in that video, when it is committed by police who are expected to serve and protect, is to be abhorred.”

The police service has said it would give its full support to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate as it looked into Macia’s death.

“We fully support the principle of police being policed and we shall be transparent about the outcome of the investigation,” it said.

•Photo: South Africa’s Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega.