Under heavy security: The officer accused of causing the death of Salomon Taka testified in court Israel today

The death of the late Salomon Taka:

In the Magistrate's Court in Haifa today (Wednesday) the police officer accused of causing the negligent death of the young man in Kiryat Haim testified today.

During his testimony, the officer claimed that a group of boys, including the late Teka, threw stones at him. "I did not have many options after shouting at the boys to stay away," the accused policeman said.

I asked the deceased to walk away, to go back and not get close to me.

"Even though they knew I was armed, nothing deterred them."

The officer then explained why he decided to aim the weapon down and not fire in the air.

He said, "Shooting into the air is for the purpose of arresting a suspect, even though I had the authority to shoot at him, but I decided to shoot at the ground in the hope that it would deter the gang and make them go back. Him but only to keep the danger away from me. "

The late Salomon Taka,

The officer later recounted the stones thrown at him.

"I can not count how many stones there were," he testified.

"But one big stone that one of the boys picked up and threw in my direction hit my arm and then I snatched a barrage of stones from them. I saw that I was surrounded by boys under the influence of alcohol. The deceased was under the influence of drugs and they had a purpose to take me down."

The officer added that since the incident he has been going through a "difficult period", as he puts it.

"I was suspended from work, my weapon was taken from DIP and I am accompanied by insurers to this day," he said. "I did not return home.

Even my house is secure so they won't burn me down. "He claims he and his family received threats following the incident." After posting a picture of me, they reached my 7-and-a-half-year-old daughter's cell phone.

My daughter was wished to be raped.

It really shocked me. "

At the end of the testimony, the officer claimed: "I defended myself and not as the prosecution claims throughout the incident. There was no negligence. At the moment of danger, the time element was critical. The real danger on the part of the deceased was towards me."

In June 2019, the late Teka (18), a young man who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia as a child, was killed by a shotgun fired by the accused policeman. Following the incident, demonstrations took place across the country in protest of over-policing the Ethiopian community.

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