Is any security guard who checks our files at the entrance to public places really authorized to do so?
Judge Gil Krezbaum, of the Haifa Magistrate's Court, has in recent days acquitted a soldier of Ethiopian descent who was accused of illegally possessing a fist, after accepting the defense's claims that the security of the security guard who found the fist in the soldier's file was not proven.
The judge also noted that clear procedures should be established regarding the searches by the security guards at Israel Railways, in whose area the search was carried out, in order to prevent situations of over-policing against underprivileged populations.
According to the indictment, the soldier purchased the fist at the store and when he arrived at the Hof Hacarmel train station in Haifa, a draw was transferred for a mirror examination.
Police officers who were called to the scene arrested the soldier, and the indictment filed by the police alleged that he was holding a fist "outside the confines of his house or premises," and was unable to prove that they were holding a kosher target.
The soldier's defense attorney, Adv. Sagi Malach of the Public Defender's Office, addressed the issue of the legality of the search and the seizure of the fist during the trial. And that it was a "mistake that was reasonably unavoidable" after he erred in thinking that his fist could be carried.
In the verdict, Judge Kreszbaum ruled that the burden of proving the legality of the search lay at the door of the police prosecution, in which case she had to prove that the security guard was qualified for his job as a reflector and security guard - which was not proven, except for his testimony. "It is difficult to shake off the feeling that the investigation in this case was flawed, to say the least," the judge wrote.
In addition, Judge Krezbaum referred to "over-policing" situations when security guards decide on the spot whether to release a person on his way or detain him and call the police for his arrest. However, the judge remarked: "I would not be surprised if in the train depots or elsewhere reserved for it, you can find knives and punches seized during search operations at the train station, whose owners were not delayed and continued their journey happy and kind-hearted without the seized object."
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