The Ombudsman for State Representatives in Courts, Judge David Rosen, in his decision on the complaint against the police, highlights a serious phenomenon, according to which almost everyone who comes to the police to complain about police violence becomes a suspect in assaulting police officers.
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The commissioner made the decision following a complaint filed by a defense attorney with the commission against the Police Department, for closing a case against a police officer who acted violently against his client.
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The police department's response noted the investigative actions that were carried out and the reasons that led the police department to close the investigation file against the police officer.
Following the examination of the complaint and its treatment, Judge Rosen decided not to interfere with the decision of the Criminal Investigation Division, but found it necessary to emphasize the course of events in the case and its conclusion.
The investigation material revealed that after the alleged assault on the young man, a police officer decided to release him, without conditions and without questioning, in the afternoon.
Several hours later, in the evening, the young man arrived at the police station with the intention of filing a complaint about an assault on a police officer, and then, to his surprise, he quickly went from being a complainant to a suspect in an assault on a police officer.
The young man, a citizen with no criminal record, was not referred to the police station as required by law, but was brought to the interrogation room and questioned about the assault on the police officer who was the subject of his complaint.
In accordance with his authority under the law, the Commissioner recommended to the Deputy State Attorney (Criminal Affairs) to consider deepening the examination regarding the circumstances of the opening of the investigation with the complainant's warning and his actual investigation.
The Commissioner noted in his decision: "The prevailing opinion among defense attorneys, and not only among them, is that in almost every incident in which a citizen is accused of assaulting a police officer, a parallel incident of assaulting a citizen by that police officer is hidden. What is described above is, ostensibly, consistent with these things.".
He added: "More importantly, the fact that the police officers at the police station, instead of referring the complainant to the police station, as required by law, opened an investigation against him - serves as a weapon of attack by the detractors and slanderers against the police who supposedly protect sinners from their own proximity, that is, police officers who attack citizens for no reason.".
The decision was also forwarded to the Acting Inspector General of the Israel Police, so that he could consider the appropriate steps to bring the lessons of this case to the attention of the police command echelon.
