Police criticized – lawyer for shooting victim: “killer squad style”

Gernot Winkler speaks of an “inappropriate exceeding of the administrative power to command and compel”. The teen also stated that he was shot after he had already left the car, the lawyer told APA.

Impairment to the end of life?
So far there have been reports of nine shots fired by two police officers at the back of the van while the three fleeing boys were still in the car. According to the lawyer, his client was seriously injured on the basis of the alleged extra shot. The youngster has since had another operation and will most likely have to live with a disability for the rest of his life.

Police refer to ongoing investigation
The Tyrolean police, meanwhile, referred to the previous statements about the state of the investigation, which would remain valid, as well as to the ongoing investigations by the State Police of Carinthia. It should be clarified whether the use of firearms by the officers was justified. As it became known on Saturday, the Innsbruck prosecutor’s office is also investigating on suspicion of serious physical injury.

In any case, lawyer Winkler sees massively excessive behavior by the police officers. These would have acted “in the style of a killer squad”. The panel van was also already on the track at the train station in St. Johann. The LKA, on the other hand, had stated that – despite the request to stop – the car was still moving slightly forward when the shots were fired. His client was also not the driver, the lawyer emphasized, who also pointed out that the investigations must now clarify the facts.

“It’s about children”
The defense counsel also emphasized that the 14-year-old Austrian was “clean”, referring to statements by the State Criminal Investigation Service, according to which the three boys were known to the police for, among other things, coercion, physical injury and unauthorized use of motor vehicles. The proceedings against the 14-year-old were in any case stopped during the preliminary investigation phase. The attack was just a “fight between students”. In addition, his client was “just under criminal responsibility”: “These are children.”

The two police officers said they fired nine shots after hearing a “loud bang”. Two defective tires were later found on the car. It is not yet possible to say whether this has to do with the loud bang, it was said at a press conference on Friday. It is believed that the officers did not see the three youths sitting in the front seat. The suspects were found not to have any weapons.

Chase more than 30 kilometers
The action on the tracks in the station area was preceded by a wild chase from Wörgl (Kufstein district). There, the boys had fled during a driver and vehicle check with the car that had apparently been stolen two days earlier. The panel van then overspeeded on Loferer Straße in the direction of St. Johann and performed a number of risky overtaking maneuvers. In the vicinity of Going, according to the management, the driver even drove towards a roadblock or police car, but steered at the last minute and eventually came back on the road via a slope.

The other two youths – a 14-year-old Austrian and a Russian (13) – were arrested nearby by the Cobra task force. The police in Wörgl arrested two other 13-year-olds. Apparently they had left the vehicle there for the check attempt.