The court acquitted six patrol policemen from Lviv
Today, the Ternopil Court of Appeal closed the case against 6 patrol police officers who were accused of exceeding their official authority.
Deputy Chief of the Patrol Police Department Oleksiy Biloshitsky noted that this is an official recognition of the injustice and illegality of what took place in the court of first instance.
“Victory for justice. Victory for truth. Official recognition of the injustice and illegality of what took place in the court of first instance. The Ternopil Court of Appeal closed the case against our boys and acquitted them. Today I want to thank the judges who independently and objectively considered the case and made a difficult decision. Today I want to thank the lawyers who fought us to the end, professionally and faithfully. Today I want to thank the public who have been with us all this time. Today I want to thank every police officer, all our family, who fought and supported to the end. I thank everyone who joined in establishing justice in this case and fought with us! At all stages! Only together. And to the end,” wrote Alexey Beloshitsky.
Recall that on November 18, 2021, the first hearing of the Court of Appeal in the case of police officers from the Tactical and Operational Response Company from Lviv took place.
“Our police officers felt that they were not alone in this difficult case. The meeting was attended by the heads of departments of the patrol police of the western regions, the patrol, the public and the media. We will stand up for justice and believe that the Court of Appeal will make just that decision. And we, together with our guys, will go to the end. They are supported by the entire police community and the public,” Beloshitsky wrote.
On August 3, last year, the Galician District Court of Lviv sentenced to 8 years imprisonment of 6 patrol policemen who were found guilty of exceeding their official authority, which led to the death of a person.
The tragic incident occurred on February 8, 2018, in one of the gambling establishments, a 22-year-old Lviv resident died of mechanical asphyxia. The guy swallowed a bag of narcotic substance and suffocated. This was blamed on the patrolmen, who did everything they could to save the boy.
Earlier Biloshitsky noted: “Our position was, is and remains unchanged — the police officers performed their official duties. We do not agree with the decision of the court and will seek justice. I am convinced, the truth is on our side.”
On February 8, 2018, while the crew of the patrol police of the Lviv region was working on lottery establishments, in one of them the inspectors stopped the guy. During a superficial check, a package with an unknown substance was found in it.
A 22-year-old Lviv resident swallowed a bag found by police officers, after which he tried to escape. The police detained the guy, asking him to spit out what he had eaten, but he fainted
Before the arrival of doctors, patrolmen provided first aid. In particular, they did an indirect heart massage. Paramedics of the ambulance called by the inspectors declared death. The examination confirmed that Vladimir Klim swallowed a plastic bag with two grams of cannabis. The synthetic polymer completely blocked the airways and the guy died of asphyxia.
An investigative task force and representatives of the prosecutor's office of the Lviv region worked at the scene. Investigative actions have begun.
Already on May 8, the Galician District Court of the city of Lviv elected the defendants a preventive measure in the form of round-the-clock house arrest and suspension from service for six officers of the patrol police of the Lviv region. They were declared on suspicion of murder by negligence and exceeding official authority. On the same day, patrol officers called for a transparent consideration of the case with the involvement of the public.
The head of the patrol police of Lviv region Roman Pylypenko said that the precautionary measure chosen by his subordinate is too strict.
“We are transparent and open. We have nothing to hide. The guys, who are suspects, have repeatedly been awarded for conscientious service. Detained armed criminals, freed hostages. They have an excellent characteristic. We consider it a tough precautionary measure, because three months of investigation have proven our openness and cooperation on a comprehensive objective investigation. We call on all concerned to take public control of this case,” said the head of the Lviv Region Patrol Police Roman Pylypenko.
On August 3, the verdict was announced. The court found Nazariy Andrushkov, Stanislav Hetman, Alexander Demchyna, Stepan Dorosh, Dmitry Leskiv and Oleg Ustiyanovsky of the police unit of tactical and operational response (TOR) guilty of exceeding their official powers committed by a group of persons (Part 1 of Art.. 28, part 3 of Art. 365 KKU). All six were sentenced to real terms in prison — eight years in prison. Also, all the accused were deprived of the special rank of “police lieutenant” and banned from holding positions in state bodies for three years.
Subsequently, the deputy chief of the Department of Patrol Police said that the defense would appeal.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
