Anti-terrorist police charged over mistaken identity raid
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
05.06.2013 13:03
Four Polish ant-terrorist policemen have been charged after mistakenly raiding an apartment that belonged to innocent bystanders.
Здымак мае ілюстрацыйны характарFoto: wikipedia.org/Public domain
Photo: wikipedia
The four men stand accused of using inappropriate force during the action at an apartment block in Katowice, southern Poland.
The incident occurred in March 2012, when the policemen had been set to raid an apartment occupied by a wanted car thief.
However, the police picked the wrong floor of the building, and descended on the flat of a local doctor.
Unnerved by the scene when the SWAT team knocked at his door, the doctor tried to close the door on the policemen.
However, the team threw two stun grenades into the flat and entered by force.
The doctor was overpowered, and in the melee, his girlfriend fell over and broke a tooth. Some belongings were also damaged by the explosion.
Having realised their mistake, the policemen ultimately arrested the wanted car thief in a flat a floor higher.
However, the four policemen argue that they should not be charged, as they were acting under the belief that the wanted man was armed. (nh)
Source: IAR