NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans branch of the NAACP is calling for an investigation after a video aired locally purporting to show white plainclothes law enforcement officers attacking two black men during Mardi Gras.

New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman Remi Braden tells the Times-Picayune that there is no investigation because the department has not received any complaints.

The newspaper, which has the video posted on its web site, reports WVUE-TV in New Orleans aired the video Wednesday night. The newspaper says it purported shows nine State Police troopers and one New Orleans police officer — all of them white — tackling two young black men in the French Quarter Sunday amid Mardi Gras 2013 celebrations.

State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said he takes the allegations “very seriously,” adding that he has initiated an internal investigation into the incident. He said results should be available within 60 days.

“We will get to the bottom of their actions,” he said.

He said he believes it is premature to comment on the extent of force used or the circumstances surrounding the incident because the investigation was ongoing.

He said the undercover task force was largely enforcing juvenile curfew, weapons and drug laws

The video, which lacks sound, shows the two black men standing against a wall. Suddenly, a group of plainclothes officers approaches. Some of the officers tackle the teenagers to the ground.

Later in the video, the boys are released after a uniformed New Orleans police officer intervenes.

(American Press Archives)

Gerald Herbert