Podgorica resident: Police beat me, insulted and humiliated me, I received five injections

Podgorica resident Đ. V. (47) reacted to a police statement that he was arrested on suspicion of hitting a police officer with the door of a police vehicle, and then threatening and attacking another officer at the police station, claiming that the Police Department officers beat him up, that they were rude, unpleasant, insulted and humiliated him.

"On March 5th, at around 6 a.m., I was parked in the parking lot next to the gas station, waiting for a taxi. Police officers approached me and asked for the vehicle documents, which I gave them along with my driver's license. They suggested I take a breathalyzer test, which I agreed to, but they did not show me the test result, which made me even more suspicious of the entire procedure."

The police officers were rude, unpleasant and insulting from the start. Anyone who knows me knows that I always address people with respect, regardless of age or circumstances. I calmly entered the police vehicle, but then they became even more aggressive. In the vehicle, they held my hands, one police officer holding one, the other the other, while the third repeatedly hit me in the back, spine, kidneys and ribs. One blow ended in the testicle area. I was hit for minutes while my arms were twisted. The pain was so severe that the ambulance came and gave me painkillers. In total, I received five injections - two in custody that same night, one in the hospital in Cetinje and two more in the Clinical Hospital Podgorica.

I would especially like to emphasize that I have never trained, never gone to the gym, nor am I a person prone to violence, let alone attack police officers, as stated in the police report.

I am deeply disappointed that the police officers from my city (Podgorica) behaved like this not only towards me, as a fellow citizen, but they have no right to behave like this towards anyone, from any city or country. No one has the right to behave like this, especially the police. I guess they should be at the service of the citizens, not behaving so rudely and arrogantly.

I hope that my sacrifice will encourage other people to be brave, not to remain silent in the face of injustice. I would like to point out that the police in Cetinje treated me in an extremely fair and humane manner, for which I publicly thank them.

My message is not directed against anyone personally, but rather an appeal that every citizen be treated with respect, in accordance with the law and the principles of human dignity.

"Only in this way can we build a society of justice, responsibility, and mutual trust and respect, in accordance with the law and the principles of human dignity," his response reads.

Đ. V. submitted medical documentation to the editorial office.