Though State Attorney Shai Nitzan had also considered a murder charge early on and had considered closing the case, he reportedly eventually settled on negligent homicide.
jpost || The policeman who shot dead Ethiopian Solomon Tekah in June is likely to be indicted for negligent homicide.
While Channel 13 reported the news Monday night and the Justice Ministry would not formally confirm or deny the report, there were indications that it was accurate, but that the ministry wanted to wait to confirm the decision until after it meets with Tekah’s family on Tuesday.
Though State Attorney Shai Nitzan had also considered a murder charge early on and had considered closing the case, he reportedly eventually settled on negligent homicide because the policeman did fire negligently, and the shooting did lead to Tekah’s death.
Tekah’s killing shook the country and led to nation-wide protests by the Ethiopian community about dangerous discrimination by police and racism against them in general. The latest report came after claims that Tekah and some of his friends were chasing the policeman when he fired on them wildly without looking.
Although the policeman’s conduct in this case would be problematic, being chased would undermine a murder or manslaughter charge. In July, the Police Investigations Department (PID) sent a letter to the parents of Tekah defending the findings of the police ballistics department and the state’s forensics institute (not connected to the police) that the bullet, which the policeman fired and killed Tekah, was a ricochet.
This issue is also of crucial importance, as if the policeman fired at the ground and not directly at Tekah, then he probably cannot be charged with more than involuntary manslaughter as recommended by the PID.
The PID also rejected a request by the parents to view the case file before the prosecution make a final decision about the alleged charges, though it did say that it would consider the possibility of performing additional investigatory activities requested by the family.
Further, an autopsy carried out by the PID found that Tekah had a very high blood alcohol level and residual drugs in his body at the time he was shot, The Jerusalem Post’s sister paper, Maariv, reported.
The autopsy was done at the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, according to sources familiar with the details.
The PID condemned the leaks from the investigation and expressed sympathy with the family’s anger regarding those leaks.
The police placed the policeman who shot and killed Tekah on forced leave back in July. The decision came following the July decision by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court to free the policeman and to allow him to enter any police precincts besides his regular one in the Haifa area.
