The Commissioner of Police, Chief of Staff Yaakov Shabtai, met today (Friday) with the family of the late Salomon Taka, Deputy Minister of Internal Security Gadi Yabarkan and the family’s lawyer, Zion Amir. During his visit, he announced his decision to annex the officer Firefighting and rescue, this after it was announced yesterday that he will return to the investigation system and it is possible that the public pressure following the announcement did its thing.
The commissioner noted at the meeting that “this is an unfortunate and tragic event and I share the family’s grief over their loss. Since the case, the officer has been on forced leave and his trial is currently underway. I seriously considered the decision to return him to active service in the organization and found it appropriate to attach him at this stage to the fire and rescue system and return him to activity in this framework until the end of the pending legal proceedings. “
The commissioner added: “We all have a duty to act responsibly in the present and in the future. I support the police in their activities, and yet we have not lost sight of our moral duty to be attentive to the public and its feelings. “
Commissioner of Police with the family of the late Salomon Taka (Photo: Police Spokeswoman)As stated, last night, following the police announcement of the decision to cancel the police officer’s suspension, the police arrested a Haifa resident on suspicion of violating public order at the entrance to the Zevulun police station during a protest against the decision. The suspect, 39, was arrested after blocking the entry and exit of police vehicles to and from the station.
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The decision also caused a stir among members of the Ethiopian community. Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Temano-Sheta resented the decision and said that “it is a shame and disgrace to return a police officer to the service who is being prosecuted for manslaughter. To bring back a police officer so easily against whom the trial is still taking place in the shadow of family allegations The late Teka again. “Something here is very broken – police violence and profiling are not being treated as they should have been, with determination and zero tolerance.”
Sisat Fanta, a senior social activist in the Ethiopian community, said: “Once again the police and media have been shown to join hands, distorting facts and harming the Teka family and community. We will not sit idly by and our response will be appropriate and sound. We will not block roads “We do not trust the system in light of everything that has happened in the wake of this serious incident.”
The chairman of Religious Zionism, MK Smutrich, who addressed the Minister of Internal Security this morning, responded: “I am glad to hear that the Minister of Internal Security and the Commissioner responded to my request this morning and understood the significance of the wrong decision and the message it sent to the Ethiopian community. The police must do everything in their power to rebuild trust between them and the community, and this must begin first with dialogue and full transparency. “
Taka, an 18-year-old Ethiopian member of the community, was staying with his friends in a grove near the Nirim youth club in Kiryat Haim in June 2019. A police officer who arrived at the scene in civilian clothes claimed he shot after a confrontation broke out, adding that he tried to separate Between the parties and while identifying himself as a policeman, those involved began throwing stones at him. Eyewitnesses, however, allege that the shooting was carried out by the police officer during a chase he was conducting after two young men, who fled after being asked by him if they were involved in the robbery.