Soldier pulls knife on officer, military court hands him maintenance work
A military court decides that a soldier, who threatened an officer with a knife and promised to find out where he lives, will pay a fine and perform maintenance jobs around the base as punishment; Judges: ‘The incident itself is very severe, but its circumstances allow us to honor the agreement.’
The Military Court in Jaffa handed down a controversial sentence to a soldier who threatened an officer with a knife, ruling that the soldier carry out 25 days’ worth of maintenance work around the base, in addition to a 700 shekel fine.
The soldier threatened the officer with a knife after the officer trailed his car upon entering the Tzrifin army base. After passing through the base's gate, the officer had the soldier pull over and asked for his identifying information, stating that the soldier had driven in a reckless manner. The soldier, however, refused to give his information and swore at the officer. He then approached the officer, who was sitting in his own car, opened the door and said, “What do you want from me, huh? I’ll stab you.” After returning to his own vehicle, he drew out a knife and held it 20 cm away from the officer. He also repeated that he would stab the officer and added that he was going to find out where he lives.
The soldier eventually went back to his own car and continued driving. As he was drove away, the officer filmed his car.
The lenient sentence was reached due to a plea bargain between the military prosecution and the soldier’s lawyer. The prosecution explained that the soldier had already served one day in jail on the day of the event, and that the light plea was based on his formerly clean record, his troubled family life, a positive character witness provided by his commander and the soldier’s claim that he is dealing with an anxiety disorder.
The judges in the case explained their decision by saying, “The soldier’s commander has told us that he has a pleasant demeanor…The incident itself is very severe, but its circumstances here allow us to honor the agreement.”
