Officer filmed beating Arab truck driver submits resignation

A police officer who was filmed last month brutally assaulting an Arab truck driver in East Jerusalem resigned Monday, following a hearing where he apologized for his actions.

The hearing lasted a total of 10 minutes, at the beginning of which, officer Moshe Cohen handed his resignation letter to the head of the police’s human resources department.

In the letter, Cohen took full responsibility for his conduct and apologized to the driver, Mazen Shwieki, according to Hebrew media.

The police have yet to accept Cohen’s resignation, and they may choose to simply fire him instead in order to prevent him from receiving particular pension benefits.

Footage of the March 23 incident shows the officer from the elite police reconnaissance unit Yasam in a heated verbal exchange with the driver. The argument quickly turned violent, as the officer headbutted the driver before repeatedly punching and kicking him.

When the confrontation turns violent, several other Arab workers are seen approaching the pair in an effort to defuse the situation. “Get out of here, all of you,” the policeman shouts, pushing and kicking wildly at one of them. Toward the end of the video, the officer strikes the first driver again.

Even before an indictment for the charge of assault had been filed against him last Thursday, Cohen told colleagues and investigators that he deeply regretted the incident. “I did not approach him as an officer, but rather as a private citizen,” he said then.

“I made a terrible mistake…I want to hug this man,” he added.

Following the release of the footage, Israel Police released a statement calling the cop’s conduct “grave.”

Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich went further, saying Cohen caused harm to the tens of thousands of officers who work day and night for the personal safety of Israeli citizens.”

The policeman was immediately put on a compulsory leave of absence before a hearing was called to examine his continued service in the police force.

Gilad Erdan, whose Public Security Ministry is responsible for the country’s police, said the officer’s behavior was “very grave and worthy of condemnation.” He backed the decision to immediately suspend the cop.