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Police officer who shot Solomon Tekah gets acquittal appeal – Israel News

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The Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Division (PID) appealed to the district court on Tuesday, ruling to acquit a police officer who shot and killed a member of the Ethiopian-Israeli community, 18-year-old Solomon Tekah, and was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The appeal was based on two things. The first was that self-defense did not apply because the officer’s life was not in immediate and real danger, the PID said.

What was the appeal based on?

The second matter on which the appeal relied was that, despite being in some danger from the stones thrown at him, the officer fired a warning shot at the ground rather than into the air, which was contrary to the police order violated and therefore also violated negligence, said the PID.

The appeal also alleged that the April acquittal set a new and dangerous precedent that allowed for too much judgment in deciding how to fire a warning shot in the event of a threat to an officer’s life.

This contradicts the purpose of the orders for the firing of warning shots, which are intended to create safety and uniformity in their use and minimize the associated danger, said the PID.

Family members and supporters attend a ceremony to commemorate 18-year-old Ethiopian Solomon Tekah, who was shot dead by an off-duty police officer in Kiryat Haim on June 30, 2019. (Source: FLASH90)

Beyond the legal error that the PID believes was committed, the PID believes that “the acquittal sets a new standard that contradicts existing law and sends a confusing and false message to the Israeli police, security forces and gun owners could send that has the potential to endanger lives,” they said.

The shooting incident in 2019

Tekah was shot and killed in 2019. According to the officer who shot him, after arriving at a playground with his family, the officer broke up a fight between teenagers, after which the group, which included Tekah, threw rocks at him and his family .

Sensing her life was in danger, the officer said he fired at the ground.

Despite many versions of the incident, the evidence showed that the bullet ricocheted off the asphalt and hit Tekah.

The killing sparked widespread protests in 2019. Some claimed that excessive police force was directed against the Ethiopian-Israeli community and that this contributed to Tekah’s shooting.

Yael Halfon, Maariv, Yonah Jeremy Bob, and Mark Weiss contributed to this article.



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