Not even a year was enough to end the disciplinary proceedings against the policemen who on February 17, 2018, beat citizens in front of the Podgorica cafe Bajica, which was documented by surveillance camera footage.
That is why the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work asked the Minister of the Interior, Mevludin Nuhodžić, to check whether someone was unreasonably delaying the procedure.
Officers of the Police Intervention Unit Mladen Vujović, Slavko Furtula, Vukoman Maraš, Marko Stojanović and Miloš Bečanović were accused of abusing the citizens of JB, SN and MD.
The criminal proceedings initiated against them have not been completed either, as they requested a plea bargain.
They are on trial for abuse and falsification of an official document.
The council previously assessed that four police officers and intern Bečanović tried to cover up the event by falsifying an official document, as well as facts related to it.
"If there was no recording, their compromised and unprofessional behavior would have remained unknown to the elders and the police organization. The Council stated that they did not prepare, as they were obliged to, a report on the use of means of coercion, which is an additional serious professional omission. The council noted the fact that no suspect officer, but no other police officer had a personal, moral and professional motive to react and report his own and colleagues' actions that acted inappropriately in the critical incident," says the report, authored by Aleksandar Saša Zeković, Branislav Radulović, Dražen Cerović, Vladimir Dobričanin and Zoran Čelebić.
Aleksandar Saša ZekovićFrom that body, they announced earlier that they will closely monitor the "Bajica" case, so that it does not happen that the police officers have the opportunity to put on their uniforms again and "with their inappropriate behavior again damage the reputation of the police organization".
On February 13, Police Director Veselin Veljović informed them that Bečanović had not established an employment relationship with the Police Directorate after the end of his internship.
"That decision represents a responsible attitude towards earlier evaluations and conclusions of the civil control of the police on the protection and provision of the integrity of the Police".
The Council, however, says that they are concerned about the delay in the disciplinary proceedings against the police officer and the former intern.
"The Council decided to inform the Minister of the Interior about this fact in order to check whether it is caused by an unjustified delay in the procedure and the cancellation of all efforts that were undertaken in the MUP of Montenegro to make this case an example of good practice and a positive identification of the Police Administration and the MUP of Montenegro. Worse as a whole. The Council has previously indicated several times that the activities undertaken by the competent prosecutor have no connection, do not influence or dispute the need and obligation to establish the identity, initiate and implement disciplinary proceedings", the Council concluded.
The accused police officers will meet again in the courtroom on February 26, because the main trial scheduled for January 31 has been postponed due to a possible plea bargain.
The police officers were prosecuted after the media published a video of the beating recorded by security cameras.
The video shows five policemen beating three young men with their hands and feet.
The police officers, however, claim that the young men provoked them, insulted them and disobeyed the police orders.
According to unofficial information from that institution, the policemen of the Intervention Unit then went on their usual tour of the city, and at around three o'clock after midnight they passed Hercegovačka Street past men who allegedly threw things at them and called them "cops", "police pigs" and other derogatory names. . Allegedly, the policemen did not respond to those insults, but when they passed the same route a second time, they got out of the vehicle and approached the young men, after which they began to beat them.
Infobox (Quote): The Council announced earlier that they will closely monitor the "Bajica" case, so that it does not happen that the policemen have the opportunity to put on their uniform again and with their inappropriate behavior again damage the reputation of the police organization"...
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