Israel Police's disciplinary tribunal convicted an officer from the Bnei Brak station's motorcycle unit of using excessive force during an arrest on Rabbi Akiva Street in the city, in an incident that left the detainee seriously injured and in need of complex surgery.
According to the tribunal's ruling, the officer had been called to an apartment after a mother reported that her son, who has a complex psychiatric history, was threatening her and demanding money. During questioning, the son was asked to step away from the scene, refused, and began cursing at the officer. At that point the officer grabbed him, pinned him against a wall, and then brought him to the ground. When the man continued resisting, the officer pressed his head to the ground, arrested him, and placed him in handcuffs.
Injury During The Escort
The ruling states that while the detainee was being led down a staircase and attempted to break free and flee, the officer struck him with his knee in a sensitive area of his body. The detainee was taken to the hospital following the strike, where he underwent complex surgery that resulted in irreversible physical damage.
A criminal investigation by the Police Internal Investigations Department, opened following the incident, was closed on the criminal track, but the officer was brought before the disciplinary tribunal on a charge of using force beyond what the situation required.
Defense Argued Necessity, Tribunal Disagreed
Through his attorney, the officer argued at the hearing that he had been operating in a complex, active situation and that the strike was intended to prevent the detainee's escape rather than to cause serious harm. His unit commander also testified in his favor, describing the complexity of policing conditions in the area. The tribunal rejected those arguments, ruling that the officer had blatantly exceeded reasonable force and had committed a serious lapse in values. Judges noted this was not the officer's first disciplinary conviction for a violence-related offense, pointing out he had been convicted of a similar offense only a few months earlier.
Sentence
The tribunal ordered the officer demoted in rank for four months, with an additional suspended demotion of ten months to take effect if he offends again.
