AKIPRESS.COM - Scuffles broke out between police and protesters in Paris on Wednesday, February 15th during a demonstration in support of Theo, a man who has become a symbol of police violence after he alleged he was beaten and raped during his arrest last week, Reuters reported.

Violence has accompanied protests since the incident, with 12 people arrested on Monday night in the Seine-Saint-Denis region.

Protesters lit piles of trash and trash cans on fire in the streets as riot police threw tear gas canisters, which were in turn thrown back at them.

A policeman has been placed under formal investigation for the suspected rape on February 2 during the arrest of 22-year-old Theo in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb of Paris.

Local police said in a statement that Theo accused one of the policemen involved of inserting a baton in his anus.

A hospital examination had revealed wounds to his rectum, face and head, it said.