Border policeman indicted for manslaughter in killing of co-policeman

Weizman cocked his gun and aimed it at Grunov, and fired a shot into his face, killing him.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Updated: MAY 16, 2016 04:31
Crime scene [illustrative] (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Crime scene [illustrative]
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
The Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department on Sunday filed an indictment for manslaughter against border policeman Gilad Weizman for the alleged reckless killing of his fellow officer Avi Grunov.
Weizman, 21, from Ofakim, was accused in the Beersheba District Court of manslaughter as opposed to murder, since the PID believes that his killing of Grunov during an argument on January 14, 2015, was reckless, but not intentional.
According to the indictment, the incident occurred in the early morning while Weizman, Grunov and three other border policemen were spending time in their living quarters on an army base at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, south of Ashkelon, where they were serving in the Border Police to fulfill their army service.
The conversation was mostly casual, but at some point, Grunov annoyed Weizman who was playing around with his Jericho pistol.
Weizman cocked his gun and aimed it at Grunov, and fired a shot into his face, killing him.
Originally, the incident was reported as entirely accidental with descriptions ranging from the gun going off accidentally or Weizman having believed that the magazine was empty. Weizman is expected to argue these two scenarios in his defense.