Three policemen indicted for assault in Jerusalem station

Several policemen were accused of assaulting two minors who were suspects of a crime.

By UDI SHAHAM
Updated: JANUARY 17, 2018 05:00
Police chat near a patrol car (photo credit: MARK PROBST / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Police chat near a patrol car
(photo credit: MARK PROBST / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
The Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Department filed an indictment for assault on Tuesday to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court against three policemen from the Shalem station.
According to the indictment, in the first incident last October, the policemen assaulted two minors, who were suspects waiting in the station. One of the policemen grabbed a minor by his shirt and pushed him into a room in which a dog-handler policewoman was present with her dog that was held by a leash.
The policeman allegedly slammed the minor against the wall and ordered the dog to attack him, while the policewoman and the duty officer were present. According to the indictment, the dog started running toward the minor and barked at him.
The policeman then allegedly told the minor – who was crying – that if he would not admit to the charges against him, he (the officer) would keep threatening him with the dog. The officer then allegedly added: “What you have seen so far is nothing.” The duty officer did not prevent the policeman actions, nor did he mention them in his report, according to the indictment.
Later on, the policemen saw that another minor refused to enter the room, so he allegedly threatened him as well. Also in this incident, the duty officer did not stop the policemen neither did he report it, the indictment says.
The policewoman was not indicted, but faces disciplinary charges that will be adjudicated within her unit.
In another incident on that same October night, the policeman and the duty officer from the first incident, and another policeman, were patrolling the French Hill neighborhood in the capital. During the patrol, they noticed a suspicious vehicle parked at the side of the road.
Following an argument with the suspects in the car, the officers arrested two of them and took them in separate police cars. After arriving at the station, one of the policemen started hitting a suspect, when his hands were tied.
Later that night, one of the policemen allegedly slammed the head of a suspect into the station’s elevator door for no reason. During the elevator ride, the policeman kept hitting the suspect in his legs and stomach, the indictment says. Then the duty officer arrived and allegedly started slapping the suspect’s face. Only after the latter started crying did the officer stop, the indictment says.