Process on Police Violence in Vienna: Officer Denies Allegation of Mistreatment

On Friday, a trial was held at the regional court against an officer who allegedly inappropriately grabbed a 47-year-old by the upper body, pulled him inside the station, brought him to the ground with an arm thrust, and arrested him without legal grounds. It is claimed that he intentionally applied the handcuffs too tightly on the man.

According to the indictment, the 47-year-old suffered redness on both wrists, abrasions on the elbow, and swelling on the knee as a result of the police action. The prosecutor accused the officer of abuse of authority, which he vehemently denied.

"I Was Perplexed"

The man was "at a distance of half an arm's length" in front of him and was extremely aggressive, having "jerked his arm upwards," the accused described. He had warned him twice, as provided by law: "He didn't care." The 47-year-old "talked himself more and more into a rage." He finally "touched him with the flat of his hand on the upper body," the officer stated: "It was not a push. He let himself fall backward. I was perplexed." He would not have been able to bring the man to the ground: "He has 30, 40 kilos more than I do."

Due to aggressive behavior, he arrested the man, who previously did not want to identify himself, according to legal regulations. He applied the handcuffs to the man lying on the ground "as I learned." The officer admitted, "the chains" were "very short." However, the hands of the arrested had "half a centimeter of space," assured the accused and then added: "The wider someone is, the more it pulls."

Video Shown

Because the man did not want to stand up, he and a colleague "dragged him into the detention area." The latter was filmed by the 47-year-old's partner, who had visited the police station with him, using her mobile phone. The video was played in the courtroom. It showed the 47-year-old lying on his back, being grabbed by two police officers, each holding one arm, and being pulled out of the partner's and an uninvolved witness's view. Previously, the man had said, "Please, my knee, I have had surgery," and asked the officers to "help him stand up."

The man had gone to the police to "release" his mother, as he explained to a jury as a witness. She had been picked up by the police at home due to outstanding police fines and taken to the police station for the possible serving of a substitute custodial sentence. However, the fines had been accumulated by her grandson using the car registered to the mother. "I wanted to pay the fines and take my old, sick mother home," reported the 47-year-old. The defendant had been very dismissive towards him and initially did not pay him any attention. Suddenly, the officer "grabbed him firmly by the shoulder and pulled him through the security gate." Inside the station, he was then "thrown to the ground." "He wanted to prove himself," the witness suspected.

Arrest Lifted

A police lawyer lifted the arrest pronounced by the defendant shortly thereafter. The 47-year-old's partner has since passed away, so her statements in the investigation were read out. The uninvolved witness, on the other hand, was summoned to the trial. When asked by the presiding judge why she had incriminated him in the preliminary proceedings, the defendant said, "She sympathizes due to a similar migration background." The woman, like the 47-year-old, has roots in the former Yugoslavia.

The trial was adjourned for additional evidence gathering. Proceedings will continue on March 21.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.