Trial in Vienna: Accused Police Officers Deny Allegations Following Suspected Police Brutality Resulting in Stroke

According to the indictment, during the wreath-laying ceremony the Ukrainian loudly expressed his displeasure, thereby drawing the attention of the police. He was ultimately arrested for aggressive behavior pursuant to § 35 figure 3 of the Administrative Penal Act (VStG). A blood alcohol level of 0.76 per mille was later determined. The first defendant, who has known the man since 2004 through executive service and ordered the arrest, testified on the first day of trial that during the arrest the Ukrainian had grabbed his ballistic vest and hung himself onto his neck, which resulted in a fall when he was brought to the ground.

Neck Trauma and Stroke

A forensic medical expert opinion concluded, according to the indictment, that the arrest caused a neck trauma through the pressure of a knee against the neck area. This trauma subsequently triggered a stroke. The Ukrainian man was brought after his arrest to the police detention center (PAZ) at Rossauer Lände and locked in a cell there for hours.

Charge of Negligent Bodily Harm

The prosecution charges the intervening officer at Schwarzenbergplatz with negligent bodily harm with serious health consequences. The prosecutor stated at the beginning of the hearing: „Es ist eine außergewöhnliche Sache". The official action at Schwarzenbergplatz had „eskaliert". At the same time, he acknowledged that the officer deployed there had not acted with intent to cause injury. With sufficient clarification of the facts, a diversionary resolution would be „möglich" for this police officer.

Hours in the Cell

At the police detention center, the 54-year-old already showed clear stroke symptoms, according to the indictment. As the prosecution described, he told the officers: „Ihm wird heiß. Ihm wird schlecht. Er kann nicht stehen. Er kann nicht gehen." Despite these indications as well as the activation of the emergency button in the cell, neither the head of the intake station nor the prisoners' guard allegedly responded.

The second officer deployed at the PAZ began her shift at 18:00, according to defense attorney Klaus Heintzinger, while the Ukrainian had been admitted shortly after 16:30 and assigned to a cell. Heintzinger emphasized that this officer had „überhaupt nichts zu tun gehabt" with the man, as the affected person was in a cell on the third floor, while the officer had been stationed on the ground floor. „Er war nicht der Gruppenführer im dritten Stock", Heintzinger emphasized. The officer had been sitting „irgendwo im Eck hinten".

Presentation to the Police Legal Officer

In the evening, the man was then presented to a police legal officer with recognizable stroke symptoms, according to the indictment — in a wheelchair, because the then 54-year-old could no longer walk independently by that point. The prosecution charges the police legal officer with abuse of official authority as well as torture and neglect of a prisoner. It characterized his conduct as „amtsmissbräuchlich".

At around 21:00, the police legal officer conducted an interrogation of the man, although he was, according to the indictment, obviously not fit for interrogation and unable to exercise his right to be heard. The clerk assigned to the interrogation „hat geglaubt, er ist ein Pflegefall". The man had been „komplett nicht ansprechbar".

The head of the intake station at the PAZ and the prisoners' guard must answer for torture and neglect of a prisoner. The prosecution thereby potentially accuses the three defendants employed at the PAZ of harsher penalties than the intervening officer at Schwarzenbergplatz.

Defense attorney Klaus Heintzinger, who represented the three police officers, said the official action at Schwarzenbergplatz had been correct and proceeded „exakt so abgelaufen, wie es der Einsatztechnik-Richtlinie entspricht". The first defendant denied having pressed his knee into the man's neck during the arrest. He also described how the Ukrainian had made jokes and started a casual conversation after the arrest, thus being „fein".

In conclusion, Heintzinger remarked: „Es ist tragisch, was passiert ist. Aber dass die drei einen Fehler begangen haben, kann nicht gesagt werden." The defense attorney for the police legal officer, Astrid Wagner, firmly rejected the allegations against her client: „Das ist wirklich nicht haltbar." Her client had worked for the police for decades and had always acted very dutifully.

Defense and Private Expert Opinion

Wagner relied on a 52-page private expert opinion she had obtained from a neurologist. This concludes that an asymptomatic stroke had occurred that could not have been recognized by medical laypersons. „Nur ein Facharzt für Neurologie hätte die medizinische Notlage erkennen können", Wagner quoted from the opinion.

Wagner also pointed out that after his admission to the PAZ, the Ukrainian had been examined by two public health officers and described as fit for interrogation. The filing of the complaint by the affected person thus occurred only after his release from the PAZ. The presumption of innocence applies to all four defendants.

All four defendants pleaded „nicht schuldig". The trial at the Vienna Regional Court will be continued. Should the charge of negligent bodily harm with serious consequences be confirmed, the officer from Schwarzenbergplatz faces in any case less far-reaching consequences in the event of a diversionary resolution than the three defendants from the PAZ, whom the prosecution accuses of torture and neglect of a prisoner.