Family of slain Haifa man bemoans police shooting as cops close ranks

The brother of a disabled Arab man shot to death by a police officer says his mother attempted to call an ambulance to help her son when he had what appeared to be a psychotic episode, but accidentally reached the police, who arrived with tragic results.

Amir Anabtawi tells Channel 12 that police are a “criminal organization” who “assassinated his brother.”

According to the police, Munir Anabtawi was running around with a knife and attacked an officer, who responded with live fire after fearing for his life.

“They’re fraidy-cats. They are not professional enough to deal with the problem,” he says.

“Why five bullets? Fine, give him one. He’s down. But one, and another, and another and another. They neutralized him,” he adds sarcastically.

Police claim that bodycam footage proves that the officer feared for his life, Channel 12 reports. It says that local police officials are backing the officer and believe he will be exonerated by an internal investigation.

The officer has been released after being questioned by the Justice Ministry, but has not returned to work, the channel says.