National Police agents collect evidence a few meters from Issa M.'s lifeless body on November 5, 2021. Cézaro De Luca (Europa Press)
Definitive folder. The First Department of the Provincial Court of Madrid has definitively closed the murder trial against the four police officers who, on November 5, 2021, shot Issa M., a 44-year-old man who was walking through the streets of Villaverde district with a knife in the district Hand and attacked one of the agents when they urged him to stop his behavior. The man died from the officers' shots. The three-judge court considers that the police officers' actions were proportionate to the victim's “degree of aggressiveness and lack of reason”, which forced the officers to “take a forceful approach in defense” of the colleague who was attacked . Therefore, they conclude that the police acted in “legitimate defense.” The decision does not allow for an appeal.
The case had already been filed in July by the head of the 39th Instructional Court of Madrid, Belén Sánchez Hernández, who also considered at the time that the actions of the four police officers involved in the incident were “rational and proportionate to the aggression received.” are .” in line with the demands of the public prosecutor. The judge then ordered the case to be stopped for everyone, but the Ombudsman's Office, represented by the association SOS Racismo Madrid, appealed against the continuation against two of the four agents who fired the most shots. In its appeal, the NGO pointed out that these two police officers fired a total of eleven shots and that although “it would have been easier to target areas with little damage” since they were at a short distance from the attacker, “all impacts “The bullets landed in the chest due to disproportionate and excessive behavior.”
However, in a decision dated January 11, made public on Wednesday, the Provincial Court of Madrid considers that “it is not possible” to establish that it was precisely the shots fired by these two agents that caused the death of Issa M. have caused. ., because the other two police officers, including the one who was attacked, fired one and two shots respectively. “If you examine the impact sites, not all of them are likely to result in death based on the number.” [el fallecido presentaba numerosos impactos de bala aunque solo tres fueron los causantes de la muerte] “It cannot be determined that they were precisely a consequence of the shots fired by the agents for whom the case is to be continued,” the order said.
In their decision, the judges also focus on the circumstances in which the event occurred: the victim “with severely impaired mental and volitional abilities” walked along Avenida Andalucía near a health center and showed “a threateningly large knife” to pedestrians with it.” At this point, after receiving a call on 091, the officers went to the scene and located Issa M. on Rocafort Street, where they asked him to stop “reaching out”. [este] without saying a word about one of the agents with his knife raised, which resulted in him firing a shot.”
The order highlights that the assailant nonetheless “continued in the same posture, approached the first agent, cornered him, and attempted to stab him, even though the agent struggled and managed to free himself.” According to the court, the victim's attitude of running after him “with the intention” of stabbing the police officer led his companions to fire several shots. Issa M. fell to the ground and although police tried to revive him while medical services arrived, they could do nothing to save his life.
Against this background, the judges, in line with the proposals of the prosecution, the prosecution and the defense, consider that “it cannot be said that the actions of the agents were disproportionate”, since they assume that they would not have acted on them Wisely, one of them “could have been the target of the intended stabbing with danger to his life or physical integrity.” Therefore, they conclude that “the requirements of self-defense are met” and agree to the free release of all of them.
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After the shooting, a video of the incident shot by a neighbor from a balcony was shared on social media. However, the recording started at the moment of the last recording, so the moments of the previous attack were not captured. It was then highlighted that the deceased, who lived in poverty, had mental health problems and had committed four attacks on police officers in the last two years. The SOS Racism Madrid association released a statement three days after the incident in which it considered that the police had acted disproportionately because Issa M, who was Ghanaian, was black, appearing to be a popular accusation.
After learning of the court decision, the Police Justice (Jupol, the majority union of officers that led the legal defense of the accused police officers) released a statement this Wednesday in which it expresses not only its satisfaction with the file For this For this reason, he has called on the Interior Ministry for “the urgent need to update the National Firing Plan,” the program that determines the practices with agents’ weapons. “As has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, it is failing to fulfill its mandate and poses a serious threat to the physical, vital and legal security of officers of the National Police,” they add. The union also demands that the department adapt the Protocol of Basic Principles of Action of Agents to the current type of crime, which, they emphasize, was written in 1986.
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