Police open investigation against officer who beat Arab detainee
Police Internal Investigations Department to probe incident from traffic stop gone awry in which cop was shown slapping suspect who did not resist arrest, despite no complaint being charged as yet; 2 cops wounded in incident released from hospital; Minister Erdan: Video 'raises pointed questions as to officer's conduct.'
The Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID) has opened an investigation Saturday into a policeman's alleged attack of a cuffed and subdued Arab detainee in Rahat the previous day.
Dozens of residents of the predominantly Bedouin city protested on Saturday evening in front of Rahat police headquarters against what they deemed to be police brutality.
The attack took place on Friday after the detainee, along with two others, fled from officers before attacking them and calling a mob to their aid.
Two officers who were wounded by the mob were released from the hospital Saturday. Doctors say they suffered bruises that will prevent them from returning to duty for several days.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan commented on the incident on Twitter Saturday, saying that the video "raised pointed questions as to the officer's conduct. There is no dispute. His conduct should be probed on a disciplinary level."
During a routine inspection of a driver's license and registration, police officers noticed his driver's license expired last year, the police said in a statement. A quarrel than broke out, and after officers attempted to arrest the driver, he—along with the two passengers—bolted from the scene, veering recklessly into traffic and speeding off.
Policemen gave chase, keeping pace with the wild driver until he stopped at the side of a main road in the city. The three then stepped out of the vehicle carrying clubs and called onto nearby citizens to attack the officers.
The policemen, who engaged the three, began being pelted by rocks, with dozens of nearby onlookers forming a mob.
The officers managed to subdue two of the car's occupants, resorting to using a taser on one of them after he refused to be put at the back of their cruiser, kicking and pushing against the officers trying to get him inside.
Video footage of the incident showed one cop using excessive and unnecessary force, beating a cuffed and submissive detainee across his head on their way to the patrol vehicle. A picture taken at the scene showed the same detainee laying cuffed and bloodied on the ground.
The footage lends credence to a different version of Friday's events—one told by residents of the Bedouin city.
Ali al-Dabbsan, head of the Rahat Popular Committee said youths gathered around the policemen not to assail them, but to calm down spirits—particularly those of the officers, who he said behaved "in an unacceptable manner."
"The two men who were attacked by the policemen are from families that are among the best in the city," he asserted. "The officers could have prevented this from happening and not resort to using violence."
He ended by expressing hope that the incident will be properly addressed "by the parties responsible" and not ignored.
The man seen to be assaulted by the officer was released from the hospital to his home overnight Friday.
Musa al-Ubara, a relative of the young man, said his family is burdened by feelings of anger and helplessness.
"There are feelings of anger, a feeling that the hands are tied. The minister of public security keeps backing the police with his eyes closed," he said, slamming Gilad Erdan's for his—as he sees it—biased backing of security forces in other similar incidents.
"We don't feel like second-class citizens, but rather like seventh-class … Like (we're worth) nothing," he lamented. "We are loyal citizens of the state, but … all lines were crossed.
"What we saw in the videos is horrible, that's not the way people should behave, but it's good that it did not end in disaster, for both sides."
Saber al-Ubara, another relative of the young man who was beaten by the cops, slammed their conduct as wholly unacceptable. "Such people should be removed from the police because they are dangerous to the public," he affirmed.
Many of the city's residents expressed their sorrow over the incident, stressing that they do not mind when officers do their job and arrest outlaws, even those who are just driving with an expired license, but stressed they will not accept such violence from those who are meant to uphold the law.
"We have no problem with the police going around in the city and catching anyone who behaves badly, and acting against those suspected of damaging property and shooting," one resident said, adding that their responsibility "does not justify the conduct of the policemen (on Friday)."
MK Taleb Abu Arar (Joint List) asked Erdan to dismiss the policemen from their posts.
