New Orleans ? In the midst of a crime wave that has included nine killings since New Year’s, the Police Department also is investigating seven of its own officers accused of beating a man in the French Quarter.

Two of the officers have been assigned to desk duty pending an investigation and more might be reassigned, Deputy Chief Marlon Defillo said.

Ronald Coleman, 25, a lobbyist for the community group ACORN, said he was beaten Dec. 30 by plainclothes officers who were looking for a pickpocket.

“I didn’t know what was going on, they just came up and started hitting me,” Coleman said Tuesday.

He said they released him after checking his identification, but by then he had suffered a concussion, facial cuts and bruised ribs.