BY DANIEL BERNSTEIN
Police officer caught on video beating Ethiopian-born soldier Damas Pakada will be fired and may face criminal charges, police chief Yohanan Danino announced Wednesday.
The news came as police geared up for fresh protests against police brutality in Tel Aviv planned for next week, after a previous protest sparked by a video of Pakada’s beating turned into a violent melee earlier this month.
Danino said the officer was fired following a dismissal hearing on Tuesday. “[The officer] made many claims, and there was a thorough discussion on this matter, which included the legal counsel, the department of discipline, the attorney general and the head of human resources,” he said during a conference in a northern Israeli college.
“After listening to everyone, I decided to fire him from the police force.”
The beating of Pakada was among the catalysts for Ethiopian-Israeli protests against police brutality and racism that turned violent in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this month. Activists have repeatedly called for the officer’s dismissal.
The police chief added that the officer’s layoff was independent of the criminal investigation he is currently facing.
“If [the police investigation unit] decides there is sufficient evidence, he will be indicted and will receive his punishment,” he said.
Read more and watch video at timesofisrael.com »
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Soldier Becomes Unlikely Face of Ethiopian-Israeli Discontent (Video)
Ethiopian-Israeli Protest in Tel Aviv Turns Unusually Violent (Raw Video)
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