Austria: Police Attack On US Man Brings Up Racism

VERONIKA OLEKSYN

VIENNA (AP) — Mike Brennan was getting off a Vienna subway when two undercover police officers pounced on him, mistaking him for a drug dealer. Months later, the 35-year-old black American is still recovering from his injuries — and waiting for a satisfactory apology.

Critics claim the incident has highlighted discrimination in a country where Amnesty International says migrants and people of color are more likely to be suspected of crimes than whites and are regularly denied their right to equal treatment by the police and judicial system.

Brennan, a soft-spoken physical education and English teacher who has lived in Austria for about four years, claims the officers who attacked him on February 11 failed to identify themselves and simply left him lying on the platform once they realized their mistake.

The Vienna Police Department put out a statement saying it regretted the mix-up but never suspended those involved. Prosecutors soon expect to decide whether to indict the officers or drop the case.

The former American football player from Jacksonville, Fla., says he could not work for months because of injuries to his back, head, neck, hand and wrist. He wants police to acknowledge that what they did was wrong.