Policewoman suspected of shooting Palestinian 'for fun'
Border Policewoman serving in the Jerusalem sector is suspected of shooting and wounding a Palestinian man with a sponge-tipped bullet for her own amusement, asking her friend to deny knowledge of the incident; her lawyer denies charges, says she is innocent.
A Border Policewoman serving in the Jerusalem sector is suspected of firing a sponge-tipped bullet at a Palestinian and wounding him "for fun," as she described it.
The incident took place in May, while the policewoman was on patrol near the A-Za'im checkpoint located near the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. The suspect fired a sponge-tipped bullet at the back of a Palestinian man, without any apparent operational reason.
After intelligence about the incident reached the Police Investigation Unit, the Border Policewoman was arrested and and questioned on suspicions of assault and battery.
The policewoman is also suspected of obstructing justice, since she allegedly told her friend—an IDF soldier who knew about the investigation and was summoned by the Police Investigation Unit to testify—she did not know anything about the incident.
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extended the policewoman's remand by three days on Monday.
Along with the suspect, four Border Policemen were arrested on similar suspicions. The four were questioned by police before being released.
According to a source in the Border Police, the suspects are combat soldiers serving their mandatory military service. When the suspicions against them become clear, the Border Police will take the necessary steps to expel them from the force. "These are serious allegations that are not in line with the values of the Border Police," the source added.
Itzik Cohen, the Border Policewoman's defense attorney, denied the charges against his client, asserting she is innocent.
"The policewoman categorically denies that she fired a sponge-tipped bullet at the Palestinian man. Needless to say that the defendant's face does not appear in the video obtained by the Police Investigation Unit, and nor does her voice," Cohen said.
"The real reason for the defendant's arrest is an attempt by the Police Investigation Unit to break her spirit and make her confess to an act she did not commit, apparently because she was unwilling to implicate others to save herself. I have no doubt that as the investigation progresses, her innocence will become clear," he concluded.
