Amona police brutality case

Tuesday, March 14, 2017, 12:03 Approximately one month after the destruction of Amona, the first police brutality suit has been filed against a policeman filmed stomping on a minor’s face. Honenu is assisting the claimant. See here for a partial listing of cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to individuals protesting the destruction.
At the beginning of the week of Sunday, March 12, a compensation suit was filed with the Jerusalem Magistrate Court. The text of the suit states that when the police forcibly removed the minor from one of the houses in Amona, policemen beat him until he collapsed on the floor. The policemen then dragged him out of the house, and while two policemen held his legs and his upper body was on the ground and he was not resisting, a third policeman came and stomped on his head. The incident was filmed and also otherwise documented. A complaint was filed with the Police Investigation Unit.
The text of the suit further states that a medic who noticed the bruised minor tried to give him medical treatment, and the minor asked him for help due to his bruised face and lack of feeling in his arms as a result of the police brutality, but the policemen prevented him from receiving treatment. Later the minor received first aid at one of the ambulances stationed at Amona and was evacuated for treatment at a Terem Medical Clinic.
The minor is demanding 25,000 NIS in compensation from the police for the police brutality. From the text of the suit: “The act was severe, ugly, insulting, humiliating and unnecessary. The claimant suffered injuries to many parts of his body, including his right jaw, which has limited movement, a cut in his right arm, bruises and abrasions on his back, and bruises to his right shin.”
Honenu: “This is a clear-cut incident of aggravated police brutality. The police were unrestrained in their violence towards a minor who does not have a criminal record and had no ability to defend himself. Police brutality is assault in every way, and there are no leniencies, and perhaps the response should be even more stringent, concerning violent acts carried out by policemen without any justification, such as this. Police brutality is painful, humiliating, and greatly damages the personal security of a civilian, and the trust a civilian has in the authorities. Violence such as this towards a minor at the stage of adolescence, when he is forming his personality, is damaging beyond the serious physical injury, and is liable to remain with the claimant for his entire life.”