Halak’s shooting led to massive criticism of the police, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted it was a mistake.
According to the PID, though they immediately collected several video cameras positioned near where the incident took place, none of them recorded the shooting itself.
At the same time, the PID said they had interviewed multiple witnesses who saw the shooting and all of the police officers involved in various aspects of the incident.
All parties acknowledge that the shooting was a mistake. The question is whether the PID will decide to indict the police officer who killed Halak for murder, manslaughter or negligent homicide, or close the case based on how reasonable or unreasonable it was for the shooter to believe that the unarmed Halak was a threat.
Some eyewitnesses have claimed that they yelled to the police officer who killed Halak that he was a special-needs case, while leaks from the officer’s side have said he was called in after other police officers viewed Halak as a threat.
Supporters of the shooter have also noted that the Lion’s Gate in the Old City, where the incident occurred, has seen many attacks by east Jerusalem residents or West Bank Palestinians on police officers.
The PID presented the new information in the context of updating Halak’s family in-person on the status of the probe.