Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The police do not plan to apologise to families of two children for using inappropriate violence. They invited them to the police station, but only to talk about the high crime rate in the suburbs they live in, the public-service broadcaster RTVS reported.
The incident occurred last October when two boys were walking home from the Búdková public transport station in Bratislava at 20:00. They were stopped by three men in an unmarked car and wearing plain clothes. They described themselves as police officers, but the boys thought they were robbers. According to the testimonies of the two boys, the police used inappropriate violence when trying to detain them.
The whole incident was scrutinised by the police inspectorate, but it did not find any flaws. Former ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová however considered the action illegal. The police officers should be punished and the police should apologise to the families, she said, as reported by RTVS.
The police, however, do not want to admit they made any mistakes and say they wanted to check the boys due to the high crime rate among young people. They want to meet the parents, but only to clarify the actions of the police officers and inform them about the crime rate in the Bratislava I borough, spokesperson for the regional police department in the capital Tatiana Kurucová told RTVS.
