Edri faces disciplinary hearing on Shaham complaint

Police commander accused of not passing along to internal affairs a complaint he received against J'lem police head Shaham.

By MELANIE LIDMAN
Nisso Shacham 390 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Nisso Shacham 390
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Jerusalem police Zion precinct head Dep.-Ch. Nissim Edri escaped indictment and will instead face disciplinary actions for his failure to report Jerusalem Police chief Asst.- Ch. Nisso Shaham’s alleged sexual misconduct against policewomen.
Both Edri and Shaham were placed on forced leave on July 26, when the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department (PID) announced a months-long undercover investigation of Shaham. Shaham is suspected of sexual harassment and improper sexual relations with as many as five policewomen.
Edri originally refused to cooperate with the investigation and denied he had any knowledge of the harassment complaints. Only toward the end of the investigation, when he was confronted by the officer who informed him of the suspected harassment, did Edri admit that he had heard of the allegations but had not passed them on to the proper authorities, as required by law.
“The senior officer’s conduct, his failure to pass on the complaint that was reported to him for investigation, as is required and expected under the circumstances, as well as his conduct during the PID investigation, raises suspicions of a number instances of disciplinary misconduct,” said a source in the PID.
The Justice Ministry transferred the case to the Jerusalem Police for an internal disciplinary hearing, however, they decided that Edri’s conduct did not warrant criminal charges.
Police chief Insp.-Gen. Yohanan Danino announced on Thursday that Edri would remain on leave until the end of the disciplinary process.
The media has widely reported that at least five policewomen complained of being sexually harassed by Shaham.
According to reports, a source familiar with the investigation called the five complainants “just the tip of the iceberg” and said Shaham’s sexual harassment was “systematic” in the police force.
The PID slammed the reports, calling them “not only inaccurate but completely wrong” and accused the media of fabricating quotes from the investigation.
Last Thursday, Danino appointed Manny Yitzhaki to the position of temporary police chief of the Jerusalem district. Yitzhaki was formerly Shaham’s deputy, until he left about a week ago to oversee the special investigative unit Lahav 443. Shaham did not appoint a new deputy in the interim.