Cop who beat Arab grocery worker to be disciplined

A policeman caught on film appearing to beat an Arab man in Tel Aviv last year will be punished for excessive use of force, the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department decided Thursday.

In addition to using unreasonable force, an investigation into the incident found that Border Police officer Ben Edri displayed unbecoming behavior, the Hebrew-language Ynet website reported.

Edri will now face a disciplinary hearing, where he is expected to be punished over the incident.

Police launched an investigation of the May 22, 2016 incident at the Yoda supermarket on Ibn Gvirol street after it sparked outrage online as photos and a video emerged showing five police officers appearing to beat Maysam Abu Alqian, 21, when he declined to show them an ID card.

At the time police said Alqian, from Bedouin town of Hura in the Negev, was resisting arrest and attacked officers after they asked him for identification.

Another employee who came to Alqian’s aid was also accused of attacking officers.

Edri “chose to use force against the complainant in a way that exceeded the reasonable limits under the circumstances, since he knew, or could reasonably have, that this was not a person who constituted a danger but only a citizen who refused to identify himself,” police explained according to the report.

תיעוד : קטטה במרכז ת"א בין עובד ערבי לשוטרי מג"ב
המשטרה : השוטרים הם אלה שהותקפו
עדי ראייה מספרים דברים שונים pic.twitter.com/06sfDV02Lk

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— לירן כוג'הינוף (@lirankog) May 22, 2016

Evidence gathered during the investigation found that two of the officers, who were not in uniform, became suspicious of Alqian when they heard him speaking in Arabic on a mobile phone outside the supermarket as they passed by.

They asked him to show his identity papers, but he refused, demanding that a uniformed policeman be called the scene. Alqian later told his attorney that he didn’t believe the two men were really police.

Edri called for a uniformed back-up officer. In the minutes that followed the supermarket manager, Kobi Cohen approached the officers to try to convince them that Alqian was his employee.

As more police officers arrived, an argument erupted between Edri and the Alqian, who, according to the police investigation, acted in an aggressive manner. The two began pushing each other and the physical contact escalated into a violent confrontation involving Edri and other police officers.

At one point, Alqian tried to choke one of the officers after which he was manhandled to the ground by the other police at the scene, the investigation found.

Alqian was seen being taken away in a police car but at some point had to be taken to Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv to be treated for his injuries. He was released to house arrest later in the night.

Eyewitnesses described a vicious, unprovoked attack by police.

“Just now in front of City Hall,” one of the bystanders, Erez Krispin, wrote in a Facebook post at the time, “an Arab supermarket worker goes outside to throw out the trash. He’s approached by a man in shorts who says, ‘Show me some ID.’

“‘The ID is inside. Who are you?’” Krispin quoted the supermarket worker as saying in response.

“Before he even finishes speaking, he’s being beaten senseless,” he continued, “a beating like you’ve never seen, teeth flying through the air. The Arab is crushed.”

“When an elderly woman asks them why they’re doing it, they yell at her, ‘Fuck off before we finish you too,” Krispin wrote.

Concerning the four other officers who were involved in the incident the police disciplinary department will deal with the matter, police said.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.