A United Nations official says he is probing reports of police brutality against anti-lockdown protesters in Germany. Violent clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters during an Aug. 1 protest were captured on video and disseminated widely online. One video, for instance, showed officers tackling people to the ground and punching at least one protester. Another appeared to show an officer hit a child. People were protesting the German government’s harsh measures that have been imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nils Melzer, the special rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment at the United Nations, said this week that the clashes were brought to his attention for the first time. Melzer later told Berliner Zeitung that his team received numerous reports from people who were at the protest. “We will now sift through and evaluate the material. Every single message and video needs to be …