A young man stepped in front of a queue in Cais do Sodré and stabbed a police officer who had approached him to comply with the rules. The attacker managed to escape. Union regrets impunity in police assault.
A policeman was stabbed in the shoulder by a young man in Cais do Sodré, in the early hours of this Sunday in Lisbon, with the attacker fleeing the scene while other policemen assisted the injured colleague, a police source revealed to Lusa.
Paulo Macedo, president of the Police Professionals Union (SPP/PSP), said the injured policeman, who belongs to the 1st Public Transport Security Division, had to be transported to a Lisbon hospital after colleagues used a traffic signaling vest to “stop the blood” from his shoulder.
The injured police officer was discharged from hospital, returned home, but later had to return to hospital and his clinical situation has now stabilized, the SPP leader said.
According to Paulo Macedo, the incident began when the attacker tried to get ahead in a queue to buy food and drinks, and one of the policemen on the scene addressed the young man to tell him that he had to follow the rules. Following the conversation, the young man pulled out a white weapon and stabbed the policeman, fleeing on foot with other companions.
In view of the seriousness of the injuries, the other police officers chose to provide immediate assistance to the injured colleague, so it was not possible to arrest, identify or locate the attacker.
The president of the SPP/PSP criticized the Government for, in eight years of governance, still not having solved the problem of “dozens” of daily assaults on police officers, in the face of “legislation that is permissive and that enhances impunity” of this type of aggression against law enforcement officers.
Paulo Macedo also criticized the lack of video surveillance in this and other places, a technology that would allow “easier” identification of aggressors and even deter criminal behavior such as what occurred this morning in Cais do Sodré.
The SPP/PSP leader also regretted that police aggressors are often at liberty after the application of coercive measures and, in contrast, criticized and expressed himself “amazed” at the number and ease withwhich disciplinary proceedings are brought against police officers in the course of police activity.
However, in a statement, the SPP / PSP expressed its “indignation” at what happened and blames the Minister of Internal Affairs (MAI) for the “lack of capacity to solve this serious problem”, considering that such a situation can only “result in the resignation of the minister” José Luís Carneiro.
The union calls for a change in legislation and “swift and effective punishment of those who commit criminal acts against police officers”, saying that these attacks on law enforcement officers cannot be taken “lightly”.
“The police are fed up with promises and propaganda that do not reflect the reality of the facts,” said the union, noting that at stake is the “life and physical integrity of the police” and the “effective defense of citizens”.
