An armed man was roaming the streets of Old Town in Bratislava, police reported on Facebook in the early afternoon of July 8.
“Bratislava police officers are intervening on Prepoštská Street in Bratislava, where a man armed with a knife is moving,” the police wrote.
The man has been detained by police and no injuries have been reported.
However, shortly after the intervention, a video that an onlooker took from a window above the scene appeared online, showing two officers shouting vulgar offences at the man with the knife.
There is also a shot where the man they are intervening against says "You cannot be serious gentlemen, shooting a rubber projectile into my leg."
The police on the scene were then aided by more officers in SWAT gear. In the video, some appear to be kicking the man after he surrendered, threw away the knife and fell on the ground.
The Police Corps Presidium is dealing with the intervention after the video was aired.
It is not possible to tell if the intervention was adequate and well-performed, the first vice-president Jana Maškarová said, as reported by the TASR newswire. She maintained, however, that caution was in place in this case. The man had a backpack and the police officers had to also take into account that he could have an explosive in it.
The control department of the police presidium will deal with the case.
