Calum MacLeod

USA TODAY

BEIJING — Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong warned Wednesday that the apparent beating of a protester by police could be the start of a crackdown that could lead to even more support for the civil disobedience movement.

Hong Kong police tightened its grip on the city earlier Wednesday as officers dragged away dozens of activists, tore down barricades and removed concrete slabs that protesters had used for more than two weeks in a call for free elections.

During the clashes before dawn near the city government's headquarters, a group of officers appeared to lead a man to a dark corner, where they kicked and beat him for four minutes, according to video aired by television channel TVB.

The Civic Party, a pro-democracy group, identified the man as Ken Tsang, one of 45 demonstrators police arrested. Photos showed Tsang with bruises, scratches and other markings on his torso. Tsang said he is considering legal action against police.

"Hong Kong police have gone insane today, carrying out their own punishment in private," said pro-democracy lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan. "Hong Kong's values and its rule of law really have been completely destroyed by police chiefs."

Public anger grew over the TV video of the apparent beating. It's unclear what provoked the attack. Local Now TV showed video of Tsang beforehand splashing water on officers.

Police spokesman Steve Hui said seven officers who were involved in the incident were temporarily reassigned, and an investigation is underway.

"I fear we are edging toward some sort of crackdown," said Kenneth Chan, a lawmaker from the Civic Party, who questioned Hong Kong's security chief, Lai Tung-kwok at a legislative meeting. The incident "was a very worrying sign that ...

Police said the protesters were disrupting public order and gathering illegally and had to be dispersed. "I have to stress here that even though protesters raised their hands in the air, it does not mean it was a peaceful protest," said Tsui Wai-Hung, a police spokesman.

The protests have paralyzed parts of Hong Kong since Sept. 28. Tens of thousands of people at one point joined the student-led movement demanding democratic elections in 2017, when the semi-autonomous territory is scheduled to vote for the first time for a new leader. Beijing insists on screening potential candidates.

Protesters dispersed last week when Hong Kong's leadership agreed to meet with student leaders, but demonstrators returned to the streets Friday night after the government canceled the talks.

The police action dominated discussions Wednesday among the 50 or so protesters still in the Causeway Bay area, said Chris Lau, 20, a physics student, who has slept on the road there since the protests began.

"We feel anger and desperation," he said. "We know the government doesn't want to talk with us. Now we are most concerned about how we can defend ourselves from policemen." Lau said he expects more protesters to take to the streets in response to the alleged beating.

China, which took over the former British colony in 1997, has condemned the protests as illegal and a massive drain on the city's economy. "They are doomed to fail," said an editorial Wednesday in the People's Daily, the Communist Party's mouthpiece.

A commentary piece in the same newspaper warned that "every new move increases the price that Hong Kong will have to pay for this political chaos."

The Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the main organizers of the protests, vowed to stay. "The government should listen to the request for a real election from the occupying citizens, and the demand should not be met by brutality from the authority," the group said in a statement Wednesday cited by the South China Morning Post.

Human Rights Monitor director Law Yuk-kai said the police officers involved in the incident with Tsang could be jailed for life if found guilty of inflicting severe pain on another while performing official duties, the Post reported.

Contributing: The Associated Press