A video showing two members of the Arrecife Local Police acting forcefully against a man who was protesting against the arrest of a third party, and a woman who tried to record the scenario with her mobile, has gone viral.
The incident happened on Calle Pedro Barba in Arrecife yesterday afternoon (Sunday) at 5.15pm, although it started before when the officers followed the three of them in their car because they ignored an order to stop and fled in the opposite direction.
When the officers did manage to stop them and they got out of the car, the occupants of the car refused to comply and showed resistance, to which the members of the Local Police used force.
The video shows that while one of the men is being arrested, the woman is recording the scene on her phone, so one of the officers, realizing it, smacks it out of her hand to stop her filming, which leads to a struggle with the woman and the man in the red shirt.
After immobilizing the first detainee, the other agent goes to the man in the red shirt and gives him a strong punch that knocks him on the ground, apparently unconscious.
POLICE REPORT FILED ABOUT THE INCIDENT:
Following the incident, the Spanish Press have had access to the official Police report this afternoon. The report says that the three people involved were: "drunk, they skipped the halt, insulted and attacked the agents”
The police report says that the situation started when the agents involved were warned about a table of five people consuming alcohol outside a kiosk bar in front of the Cabildo, which is more than is allowed under Level 4 restrictions.
The agents report that they went to the table and questioned the five people who were drinking beers and shots, and asked them about the reason for their meeting, reminding them that it is prohibited at alert Level 4. The reply they got was: “now we are seven and not five, go find cars that are doing rallies and leave us alone", laughing and disrespecting the agents.
Due to this they told the five of them to leave the place immediately or face a fine, and told the kiosk owner the same, as he was allowing a breach of restrictions.
The police report continues, that “about 15 minutes later, while they were patrolling the Avenida Marítima, they observed a vehicle with the same people in it identified minutes before, so they proceeded to stop them, after observing obvious signs of intoxication, at which point instead of stopping they fled at high speed, being intercepted by the police vehicle in the roundabout of the Gran Hotel, managing to avoid the police car and fleeing in the opposite direction through several streets until, the driver stopped the vehicle at the pharmacy in Calle Pedro Barba.
The report continues that at that moment the driver got out of the vehicle and began to insult the officers, shouting: "Hit me, hit me, you are not men, you are fagots, come hit me”, at which point he was intercepted by the police officers, as he violently and threw blows at the agents, who – according to the report - tried to reduce him using the minimum essential force, at which time the identified woman was there with mobile phone in her hand recording the police action, that is why the agent gives her instructions not to continue recording, but she ignored him, and that is why he hit the mobile terminal out of her hand to stop her attitude, falling to the ground given the state of intoxication she presents.
After falling to the ground, she managed to get up and pounced on the agent, hitting the his face with her hand, breaking his mask while shouting “leave him alone Maricon, he hasn't done anything.” This is when the third person, in the red top got involved as well, while the other agent is handcuffing the first detainee. The first agent says he saw it was two against one so got up and to defend his partner and knocked the man to the ground.
The police brief continues stating that “at that moment the agent goes to see the boy on the ground, who is semi-conscious with his eyes open and bleeding from his head, and at that moment more Local Police agents appear who come in aid of the first responders and proceed to separate the participants.”
They then called an ambulance to assist the injured, who regains consciousness and tries to get up, telling the respondent not to get up or move, since the ambulance is arriving. The man ignored the order from the police and got up, just as two patrols of the National Police arrived, which calmed the situation.
The report continues, that later, “after everything that happened by virtue of the fact that the events are criminal, the agents of the Local Police proceed to arrest the three identified, informing them in a clear and understandable way of the reasons for this, transferred them immediately to the Valterra health centre to be assisted before they are admitted to the jail at the Police Station.”
The acting agents also presented photographs of the detainee’s vehicle which several open and empty beer cans inside.
The repart ends by noting that the agents acting at the end of these proceedings went to the Valterra medical centre to be assisted for the injuries they suffered, attaching the medical report to the proceedings.
