Police Officer Fires at Suspect in Kosice, Case Being Investigated by UIS

Kosice, February 27 (TASR) - A police officer fired a shot in Kosice's borough of Saca on Wednesday evening after a suspect attacked his colleague with a machete, with the case being transferred to an investigator from the Internal Affairs Inspectorate (UIS) for further proceedings, Kosice region police reported on social media on the same day. "Police officers were sent to verify a report from members of the public who were concerned about their lives and health, as the report indicated that someone with a weapon — a machete — was at a petrol station, and, moreover, it was a person who had failed to pay for fuel several times," the police clarified. The suspect began fleeing from the police and didn't respond to commands to stop his vehicle. The driver ignored orders even after his car was stopped, actively resisted, drew a machete from the car, and attacked the responding officers with it. "As there was no time for hesitation, the police officers broke a car window and used force, and the man exited the vehicle," the police explained, adding that the man continued to act aggressively, lunging at the officers with the machete and threatening to kill them. He didn't respond to an electric stun gun. "He swung the machete at one of the police officers present. The other officer fired his service weapon and hit the suspect," the police said, adding that the man was taken to hospital. Whether he was under the influence of addictive substances will be determined by the results of a toxicology test. It was added that media reports claiming that he had murdered a pregnant woman haven't been confirmed. However, it was found that he is banned from driving motor vehicles until 2038. The body cameras of the responding officers and the cameras from the service vehicle have been handed over to a UIS investigator for him to verify the lawfulness of the police officers' actions during the incident. lin/df