Austria: Police Attack On US Man Brings Up Racism

"They apologized for the mix-up — but not for the beating," he said.

Wilfried Embacher, Brennan's lawyer, argues the officers should go on trial for assault.

Brennan, who teaches at the Vienna International School, a private institution for expatriates, said he's not just fighting for himself.

"I'm fighting for everyone," Brennan said. "If nothing changes now, I don't know about the future."

Minorities in other European countries share Brennan's fears.

A recent Europe-wide study by the Vienna-based EU Fundamental Rights Agency found 55 percent of minorities and immigrants think "discrimination based on ethnic origin is widespread in their country."

The survey, which questioned 23,500 people from ethnic and immigrant minorities across the 27-nation European Union, also found that Gypsies and Africans reported the most abuse and that many victims have a "lack of confidence" in government anti-racism policies. Groups surveyed included Africans, Central and East Europeans, Iraqis, Turks and Roma, or Gypsies.

Earlier this year, a video showed police officers in the Swedish city of Malmo using racial slurs to describe youth rioting in an immigrant neighborhood. Authorities said it was an isolated incident, but critics contend it highlighted an undercurrent of xenophobia in the force.