Cop filmed pushing journalist, drawing weapon in Majd al-Krum
Mabda Farhat spends night in hospital after encounter with officer responding to a noise complaint; cop suspended pending examination
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
A police officer was documented assaulting a journalist in a northern town on Friday night, before pulling out an assault rifle before those at the scene.
The incident in Majd al-Krum, northeast of Haifa, began after residents complained of loud noise from a local wedding hall, Hebrew language media reports said.
Police arrived at the scene, and a crowd of guests and locals gathered in the area, including an a-Shams Radio reporter, Mabda Farhat, who documented the incident.
Video footage showed the officer pushing Farhat and knocking his cellphone out of his hand. The journalist was lightly hurt in the incident, according to reports.
Shortly after, the officer was seen rushing to a police car and pulling out a rifle.
Police said the officer in question was suspended from his position “pending an examination by the relevant authorities.”
צפו כיצד התנהג שוטר עם העיתונאי מבדא פרחאת בעת שצילם אירוע במג'ד אל כרום. השוטר דחף ותקף אותו ושבר לו הטלפון ואז הגיע לניידת ודרך את נשקו.
העיתונאי שנפגע קל שוקל להגיש נגדו תלונה במח"ש. כתבים אחרים דרשו שלא ימשיך בתפקידו בעקבות התנהגותו האלימה. pic.twitter.com/wpMGxaVMtg— Hasn Shalan (@HasnShalan) October 8, 2021
“The policeman started yelling at me and threatening with a weapon,” Farhat told the Ynet news site. He said that he spent the night in hospital as a result of his injury, and plans to submit a formal complaint against the officer.
“Such a person should be in prison, not in the police,” Farhat said.
The Times of Israel Community.