Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an independent investigation of police conduct during last week's anti-free-trade protests in Miami, joining several groups who say excessive force was used.

Earlier Wednesday, a civil rights coalition of labor, environmental and antiglobalization interests showed a videotaped compilation of police-protester clashes and offered firsthand accounts from arrested protesters.

The tape, compiled by videographers at the scene, contained footage of one protester kneeling on the ground, apparently praying, as an advancing line of police in black riot gear bowls him over. Another sequence shows a woman using a cardboard sign -- ''Fear totalitarianism'' written on it -- as a shield as police shoot what appear to be rubber bullets at her.

A close-up shows the face of one protester, blood streaming from the side of the head.

''Today we are here to tell our stories and ask some difficult questions,'' said Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller of the Citizens Trade Campaign, an anti-free-trade group. ``We are not surprised but deeply unsettled by the excessive display of force, preemptive tactics and complete disregard for human rights and civil liberties.''

In a statement, the human rights group Amnesty International called for a full investigation into reports that hundreds of jailed protesters were mistreated, including a woman who was allegedly strip-searched by four male officers and left naked. The statement said other detainees were beaten and sprayed with pepper gas and high-powered water hoses.

''If the force used is shown to have been excessive, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations in Miami conform to international standards,'' according to the Amnesty statement.

However, Janelle Hall, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department, said no incident reports had been filed alleging improper behavior at the jail.

'If there are any allegations to be made, Amnesty International or any other group can contact our internal affairs bureau. The process is always open, even when they are being detained. They could have filed an incident report, but none were filed during the FTAA protesters' stay in jail,'' Hall said.

In addition, Hall said, the department's policy is for two female officers to perform searches on female inmates.

''The department does not condone behavior adverse to our procedures,'' Hall said.

Amnesty International also is demanding to know the legal status of any protester still being held.

The other group alleging misconduct -- the Save Our Civil Liberties Coalition -- held a news conference Wednesday in which protesters described being hit with Taser guns, shot with rubber bullets and pepper-sprayed.

Miami police insist that they showed restraint during the protest and only used force when protesters attacked them.

A Miami New Times reporter, Celeste Fraser Delgado, also spoke of her arrest on Nov. 20. She said she was trying to interview protesters at the time.

She said she overheard police arguing about what the charges would be.

'We even heard one use an expletive and say, `This is so effing stupid, we don't know what they're charged with,' '' she said.

Her backpack was later found by John DeLeon, an attorney working with the American Civil Liberties Union, dumped on the ground along with other personal items, including a cellphone.

Delgado, 36, was arrested by Miami-Dade police on charges of failing to obey a lawful command and resisting an officer without violence. She spent the night in jail and the charges were dropped.

A retired pharmacist from Delray Beach, who had volunteered as a legal observer, also talked about his experiences with police. Allan Taylor, 63, was arrested Friday afternoon during a vigil at the Miami-Dade jail and charged with unlawful assembly.

''I've heard and I've read about police misconduct, but on Friday I experienced and witnessed it,'' he said.

The vigil Friday afternoon was ''noisy but peaceful,'' he said, with 100 or so protesters chanting support for those who were being held within.

Then Miami-Dade police ordered the group to disperse. The protesters were given four minutes to respond, Taylor said.

His group walked partway down the block and stopped, he said. A two-minute warning followed and they began walking again.

About 30 seconds later, he said, police moved in. ''I was told to get down and a shield pushed me down, gently,'' he said. He was handcuffed, and the officer asked him if the cuffs were too tight. ``I was given some special privileges I think because of my age.''

Miami-Dade police said protesters who didn't obey orders to leave were arrested.

''Our job is to enforce the law,'' said Detective Randy Rossman, Miami-Dade police spokesman. ``The protesters were told to disperse and the majority of them did. Some didn't and they were arrested . . . It appears he was one of the ones arrested.''

Protesters said cases like Taylor's illustrate the overly aggressive actions of police.

''The rights of many people -- journalists, protesters and bystanders -- were systemically violated,'' said Terry Coble, vice president of the greater Miami chapter of the ACLU.

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