Security footage leads to policeman's acquittal
Officer charged with assaulting civilian at gas station exonerated after footage shows civilian attacked him
VIDEO - The Haifa Magistrates' Court acquitted a local police officer over the weekend who was charged with assaulting a civilian after the two were involved in a car accident.
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The indictment filed against the policeman claimed that following the accident he chased after the civilian to a nearby gas station, where he punched him during a heated argument.
The indictment further claimed the officer called for backup and continued to strike the civilian even after the latter was already handcuffed in the squad car.
Public defender Yair Nadashi, who represented the policeman, told Ynet that security camera footage taken from the gas station clearly shows it was the civilian who assaulted his client, who was "merely responding to the aggression."
The lawyer said the indictment would not have been filed in the first place had the internal affairs unit examined the evidence more thoroughly.
Judge Orit Kantor was convinced that the officer did not attack the civilian and cleared him of all charges.
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