Acting Director of the Police Administration, Lazar Šćepanović, said that the mass murder in Cetinje was unpredictable, and that it was not possible to act proactively to prevent it.
He said this at the ongoing session of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defense.
Šćepanović, Minister of Internal Affairs Danilo Šaranović are attending the session by invitation, and, as announced by the Chairman of the Committee Miodrag Laković, the Acting Director General of the Directorate for Normative, Legal and Personnel Affairs, Snežana Jonica, will also participate in the work.
Šćepanović said that the bloody feast was unpredictable, and then repeated what the police did after they received the first call at 17.26:XNUMX p.m. that day.
He explained the chronology of the crime, as well as what the police did after the report was made.
Šćepanović said that the murderer was an antisocial personality, that he was not incited or assisted in committing the crime.
He said that these events should not be used for daily political calculations...
Šćepanović said that it is very difficult to talk about the two tragic events in Cetinje, but also that it is difficult to defend the inherited security sector.
"Defending the truth is not difficult, but it is difficult to defend those mechanisms that cannot be defended - that is the legacy, the security sector that was inherited and which was not ready for the major security challenges that the Montenegrin police faced. The event of January 1, 2025 was unpredictable, the Police Directorate could not act proactively and prevent the consequences," he said.
He said, referring to the previous session, that given that this was information marked "internal", he could not talk about it today, but that it was about technical capacities, specialized equipment and actions taken over by the Police Directorate...
He said that he would answer all questions, and that he had already answered 33 questions from MP Oskar Hutter.
Šćepanović also spoke about the crime in Medovina.
He explained that after the first call, the perpetrator was already at another location.
Šćepanović also explained what they had done - they had carried out investigative measures and actions, searched several buildings, buildings where Aco Martinović had stayed and which he had used:
"And in one building, they found two M75 hand grenades, two older rifles, four mobile phones and some edged weapons. All telephone devices and other items were subject to expert examination, and the report was submitted to the Prosecutor's Office," said Šćepanović.
He reiterated that Martinović was previously registered in the records of the Police Directorate, and that he was convicted in the first instance, and that he was sent to a health institution, that it was determined that he was not allowed to use alcohol, but that the Police Directorate did not subsequently receive data from the Ministry of Health on the activities carried out in relation to Martinović.
Minister Šaranović said that the new management of the Police Directorate took office on January 1, 2023, and that at that time he requested an urgent report on all problems from all managers of the Ministry of the Interior and the Police Department.
Accordingly, he said that ten days after taking office, he submitted a request to the then acting director of the Police Department to forward him all data on police activities in the Medovine case, as well as whether new internal procedures were initiated and established after that tragic event to prevent such events.
He added that after January 1st, several changes occurred in the Cetinje Police Department, and that it currently has 53 police officers, and that the staffing level in that city is 100 percent, unlike other security departments.
He added that medical examinations are currently being conducted for 96 members of the Police Academy, and psycho-physical examinations are being conducted for 708 candidates who have completed the first step in the implementation of the Public Call for the Recruitment of Police Officers.
He also pointed out that the stationary radar system is "at a very mature stage", which has proven to be one of the key systems for reducing the number of traffic accidents in countries.
The police director pointed out that 95 percent of officers have undergone combat shooting training, that new firearms have been purchased, the procurement of specialized vehicles has been initiated, and ballistic equipment has also been partially purchased...
He added that for the first time, standard operating procedures have been introduced when police officers are involved during complex situations, and a 24/7 standby group of Police Directorate officers has been introduced.
He pointed out that the system was not ready in the previous period because key sectors of the Police were headed by civil servants who were unable to reproduce knowledge and strategically create security policies, and such a system stagnated and did not follow modern standards.
"Among them is the former director of the Police Directorate, who came from civilian life, and three assistants, who did not recognize the role and task of the Police Directorate. They only learned about police work when they lost their mandate," Šćepanović pointed out.
He added that he hopes to minimize the consequences in the coming period.
Board President Miodrag Laković said that there should be no talk about former directors.
"Certainly what we had the opportunity to hear in the silent room is painful, both for all of us and for the citizens of Montenegro. Some of us who are members of the committee had the opportunity to get acquainted with the material marked with the degree of secrecy in the 'silent room' and it really awakens a terrible emotion in all of us in relation to what happened and those tragedies that shook Montenegro to its core. Tragedies happen everywhere in the world, but regardless of that, if we want to relativize such a thing, then we are definitely not on the right track. As an opposition MP, it would be logical for me to demand responsibility either from you or from someone in the system, however, I do not want to do that. That is not my focus now, that is not my goal now, and if I can comment on some actions, some statements, some positions after the tragedies were considered and would I have acted differently if I were in your place," said DPS MP Nikola Janović, emphasizing that he was interested in whether the police acted in a timely manner and what done so that the tragedy never happens again.
He asked Šaranović and Šćepanović whether armored vehicles or advanced equipment had been purchased, how much protective equipment was outdated, how many officers had participated in crisis training, and whether a cycle of regular shooting drills had been held for all police officers. Janović also asked whether all police officers had undergone regular annual health and psycho-physical checks.
Šćepanović: The two events do not have the contours of terrorism or organized crime
DPS MP, Oskar Huter, spoke about the conclusions of the local Cetinje parliament.
"These nine conclusions that the local parliament of Cetinje issued on January 10th contain conclusions that relate to both tragedies," he said, explaining that the first point concerns resignations, i.e., the dismissal of the entire security sector is being sought as an act of assuming responsibility.
Among the conclusions is that it is requested that the Cetinje Security Department become a Security Center in order to strengthen its capacities. Huter stated that 27 out of 30 councilors present voted for these conclusions, including councilors from Democratic Montenegro, who requested that the conclusion on resignations be excluded.
"It is untrue that these conclusions have been implemented. Some have been acted upon, but essentially the Royal Capital of Cetinje has not received any answers," Huter said, although, as he pointed out, the State Secretary said in a show that the conclusions have been implemented.
He stated that Prime Minister Milojko Spajić also received these conclusions on January 15th.
He also assessed that the councilors of the Cetinje Municipal Assembly also bear responsibility, as does he himself, who could have cried out and appealed more, but at the time he believed that the loudest noise should not be made so that it would not be connoted as scoring political points.
"I regret that I did not, Mr. Šaranović, cry out and pray that the evil that did happen would not have happened. Without diminishing my own responsibility, which should be less than yours," said Huter.
He asked what needs to happen for someone to be held accountable.
Šćepanović replied that the essence would not change if the Cetinje Security Department became the Security Center, stating that it was important that the positions in that city were filled, and that there were currently 53 officers. He pointed out that the events of January 1 and August 12, 2022 did not have the contours of terrorism or organized crime.
"We often wonder how many tragedies need to happen for someone from the security sector to feel responsible and resign, whether of a moral, objective or subjective nature," said Huter.
He asked Šaranović how many times he had visited Cetinje since he was appointed to the position.
"Do these events have all the elements of an act of terrorism, did indiscriminate or selective killing occur, was there fear, was there political silence after these two monstrous events? There is no responsibility, no answers, so sometimes we ask ourselves - is there even shame? Can what happened be placed in the sphere of organized action, or perhaps covert complicity? Why does everyone act mute whenever blood is shed in the capital? Why is everyone silent? Is this a category of systemic crime against the truth? Some citizens of Cetinje are democratically expressing their revolt over the persistent silence of the competent institutions regarding these tragedies," said Huter.
Zirojević: Link the health system with the security sector and the Ministry of Internal Affairs
SD MP Nikola Zirojević said that we have been hearing about inherited problems for five years.
"It seems to me that since August 30, 2020, time has stood still. Whatever has happened in these five years, the problems have been inherited, and I ask, it seems quite justified, whether anything has been done in these five years, whether we have moved away from the deadlock in these five years. And let me remind you, when we talk about the security sector, apart from the political component that has changed, there was Minister Sekulović, then there was my colleague Adžić, now there is Minister Šaranović. The management of the Police Directorate has more or less remained the same. We had Mr. Brđanin who returned two or three times, we had Mr. Terzić in those gaps, and now we have Mr. Šćepanović, who was previously the assistant for the Criminal Police Sector," he said.
He asked if anything had been tried to be solved in five years and if it was not by chance that some problem had arisen in these five years.
He emphasized that some current assistant directors also held high positions in UP before 2020.
"Let me not tell you what kind of relations some of them had with the ruling political structures during that period. Mr. Šćepanović probably knows that better than I do. I also think that we need to protect professionals, regardless of which political option they belong to. Believe me, I don't care who Mr. Šćepanović votes for, I absolutely don't care. I'm interested in how he does his job. And in that sense, I view him as a manager, his assistants, and every UP employee individually. And I think that's the only way it should be," he said.
He said that the fact is that the reaction to both tragic events in Cetinje was inadequate.
"You justify the reaction with inherited problems, which means that you yourself are aware that it was inadequate... I do not see your responsibility here, Mr. Šćepanović, except that by a coincidence of unfortunate circumstances, 10 or 12 days before this case, you were elected acting director of the Police... During that period of time, you could not change anything and that is the reason why you could not hear me, not once, asking for your dismissal," he said...
He told Šćepanović that he wanted to see what the results of his work would be and that he would then evaluate whether he should remain in the position or not.
He pointed out that proactive action could have been taken to prevent tragedies, but that another part of the system had to act:
"We must connect the health system with the security sector and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not so that any officer can read anyone's health system, but if a situation arises where such persons, as well as the person who committed the crime in Medovina and the person who committed this other crime, had a psychiatric diagnosis, the health system must share that information with the security system," he said...
He also pointed out the problem of inadequate control of illegally possessed weapons.
He asked whether the responsibility of the UP unit guarding the Cetinje Monastery, which did not want to react when Medovina happened, had been established.
"Was that unit in Cetinje when Martinović was killing?" Zirojević asked.
"I don't personalize guilt, I institutionalize guilt," Zirojević added.
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