"I couldn't even give anyone a slap"

"It was like being in a cake shop and not being able to have even a nibble of a cake. So many sons-of-bitches and I couldn't even give anyone a slap." Ferran T. F., an officer with the Barcelona municipal police, posted these lines and more on his Facebook page after the incidents of last Friday, when the authorities tried to clear Plaza de Cataluña of protestors who had been camped out in the square for two weeks, inspired by the May 15 movement. Demonstrators have taken to squares all over the country to demand political change.

The Barcelona council has opened a file against the officer for encouraging violence against what he described as the "perroflautas," a derogatory nickname for the protestors.

During a coarse conversation, Ferran T. F. boasted about having watched the Catalan regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, "handing out beatings for six hours," while "the dirty ones" returned to the square. The regional government has also opened an investigation to see whether he was talking to Mossos, but none of the names in the Facebook conversation corresponded to officers, according to a spokesman.

The regional interior chief, Felipe Puig, has strongly defended the actions of the Mossos on Friday, and has assumed responsibility for what happened. On Monday he responded to criticism of the violent actions of the officers, as seen in pictures and videos from the day, saying that they only told one side of the story. "You don't see a Mosso having four fingers broken," he said.