Despite holding license, Adei Ad resident detained for possession of weapon

Sunday, August 9, 2015, 15:07 In a police raid at dawn on Sunday, August 9, after personnel from the Department of Jewish Nationalist Crime in the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police, and personnel from the Jewish Department of the GSS, found an army-issue weapon during a search of the house of a member of the Adei Ad Rapid Response Squad, he was detained on suspicion of stealing the weapon. The Adei Ad resident, who served in an IDF combat unit as a commander, explained to the policemen that as a member of his community’s Rapid Response Squad, he has a valid license for the weapon.
The Rapid Response Squad member further explained to the policemen, that because he recently joined the squad he received a temporary license from the Binyamin Brigade and that in accordance with IDF ordinances the license was being held by the security coordinator of the community until he received a permanent license. He asked the policemen to request that the coordinator present the license to them. They refused to do so and detained him for interrogation. He was taken to the Yehuda and Shomron District Police Headquarters near Ma’aleh Adumim.
Honenu quickly intervened. The necessary forms and the gun license were located and transferred to the police who released the Adei Ad resident. Despite the fact that the interrogators admitted that they had erred, they refused to return the resident to his home and left him at the entrance to the E1 complex where the Yehuda and Shomron District Police Headquarters is located, from which there is no access to public transportation.
Honenu says that they will file a suit for false detention by the police and stated that, “Recently due to numerous incidents which have provoked a wave of incitement against an entire population, we have been witness to a no holds barred policy of the police and the GSS. The detention of a member of a Rapid Response Squad on such a baseless charge, without a basic check to verify details, is a scandal. We hope that those responsible for the error are penalized to the full extent of the law.”