A warning was sent out to all law enforcement officers yesterday that the Police Force would not condone incidents of brutality.
Anyone found responsible would face the full brunt of the law if criminal intent was proved.
Police spokesman Acting Superintendent Ulaiasi Ravula said officers were required to use reasonable force to overcome suspects but were not empowered to employ excessive force in the course of their duties.
He said this was the main reason why the Police Professional Standards Unit was established six years ago.
Act.SP Ravula said alleged cases of police brutality had fallen in the previous years compared to the post 2004 period because since then the force had adopted a zero tolerance approach to such reported attacks on the public by officers.
"Those found guilty will be brought to task and if it borders on criminal intention they will be prosecuted in a court of law," he said.
"We are also constantly reminding those on the ground of the ethical standards they have to abide by in the execution of their duties," he said.
This comes in the wake of a series of alleged cases of brutality by officers, one involving a man who was awarded compensation for an attack a year ago.
Nacanieli Vakatawa, of Wailoaloa, Nadi claims he was assaulted by officers last week after being apprehended as a suspect in a recent robbery case.
The 22-year-who is admitted at the Nadi Hospital is carrying visible injuries to his face, legs, back and stomach.
Vakatawa was awarded $15,000 in compensation after undergoing a similar ordeal last year.
His alleged ordeal came three days after a member of the South Pacific Games national cricket squad was hospitalised with a broken jaw and severely swollen face after the youth claimed he was punched and kicked in the face by two police officers on duty on the night of July 14.
Josaia Baba Ravulovulo, 20, a Fiji Institute of Technology Student claimed officers beat him up outside a Suva nightclub after reportedly mistaking him for a robber.
The young cricketer said the incident had all but robbed him of a chance to represent Fiji at the SPG in Samoa in August.
Last week, a Labasa High Court judge awarded Vunika farmer Subash Mani, $129,000 in compensation for the ordeal he suffered at the hands of police officers in 2004.
Mani, 45, who was a taxi driver then, was apprehended by officers on November 14, as a robbery suspect and was beaten up and had chillies rubbed on his mouth, eyes and genitals.
He also received broken ribs and bruising to his body.
