James Warren
THE two Policia Nacional officers charged with the aggravated assault of a man and his daughter in Linares last week have launched their counter case according to legal sources.
In a statement issued by the victims lawyer to the Efe, the man has claimed that he is currently under investigation himself for an attack on authority and the assault of a police officer.
In the officers legal defense, it is claimed that the man provoked the attack and started the fight, and that the off duty policemen acted in self defense.
They also claim that they were trying to stop the man from leaving the bar from where the attack took place so that their colleagues could arrest him.
The victims lawyer explains to Efe that this the officer’s counter case is a a mockery of the legal system and that the evidence of injuries sustained is proof alone that they acted with excess force.
During the attack, which took place on the terrace of a bar in the Jaen town of Linares, the victim, known as Carlos M, suffered cuts and bruises, a fractured eye socket, the loss of a tooth, broken nose and a bruised spine.
His 14-year-old daughter who was also caught up in the fight suffered bruises to her face and neck, a swollen eye and cuts to her legs.
The officers claim they also suffered injuries during the fight, however video evidence show that both the men appear unharmed.
The accused are currently held at a detention centre in Jaen, and have requested to be moved to Seville for fear of their safety after residents, angered by the incident, took to the streets to riot outside the police station.
In the demonstration, 13 arrests were made and 19 officers and civilians were injured as police used rubber bullets to try to control the ever growing crowd.
In total, over 30,000 of damage was caused to municipal property.
The two officers, one a deputy inspector, are facing up to five years in prison, heavy fines and have had their guns and badges removed permanently.
