Three of the four police officers facing accusations of police brutality returned to court on Wednesday to answer questions on three other incidents implicating the defendants.
The three stand accused of improper conduct in service.
The first incident occurred at a petrol station, where one of the officers sought to immobilise a shoplifter in a physically aggressive manner, knocking the man's legs away. The public prosecutor's representative said that CCTV footage showed the man had been standing still at the time and had not been running away from the authorities. In addition, the police officer's action had not been detailed in the incident report.
Two other incidents appeared on camera. In one, two officers collected an intoxicated individual from the CHL hospital centre, where the man had been causing a ruckus. They took the man to a cell to sober up, but when they found he was unable to walk properly, they used handcuffs to secure the man to a board with wheels and dragged him into the cell that way. The officers partially filmed this incident on their mobile phones. They claimed that one officer had issues with his hip and the other was not strong enough to carry the man himself.
A similar incident unfolded in the third instance, where the officer grabbed a frail suspect under the arms and acted as though he was lifting weights with the individual. Both men laughed during the incident. In court, the officer admitted he should not have behaved that way and could not offer an explanation for his behaviour.
The videos of these incidents were shared with the other police officers on trial via their mobile phones. The messages exchanged between the officer at the petrol station and the officer who dragged the drunken man to the police station did not paint a pretty picture. One colleague asked if the footage of the immobilisation was part of the officer's "death list". He also wrote that the "old times" needed to be brought back, to make things tougher.
The prosecution requested a two-year sentence and a fine for two of the officers. The officer who transported the man on a board was recommended one year in prison and a fine.
The defence said in the case of the petrol station there had been a motive for the officer's behaviour. While the method remained questionable, as the officer admitted, the defence called for an acquittal. The other defence lawyers also requested acquittals for their clients, suggesting other disciplinary proceedings could be used instead, rather than a penal sentence.
The verdict is due on 25 June.
