No Liability for Head Officer in Roma Abuse Case

A ruling by the Supreme Court could see the reinstatement of the deputy head of a police station in Kosice who was stripped of his post after ten of his officers humiliated a group of six Roma children right in the police station.

The scandal broke in early 2009 after receiving a lot of media attention as a video recording shows how the police forced the young boys to strip naked and beat each other, among other things, with ten officers eventually being charged with abuse of public authority and blackmail.

The deputy head who was in charge when the incident happened has now now been absolved of liability, though, as the Supreme Court decided there was no evidence to show that the deputy knew what was going on, reports TASR newswire, and so the grounds for dismissal have ceased. This means his employment with the police force prevails, and it is now his decision whether or not to return to the force.

The Ministry of Interior had based its argument for sacking the deputy head on how he must have heard the dogs barking during the incident, which took place in the communal area of the police station, as can be seen from the video. The Supreme Court judged this to be insubstantial, however, so the deputy chief can return to his post, with or without a clear conscience, and in the knowledge that a superior is not responsible for his subordinates’ criminal action.

3 Comments

  1. Shameless, embarassing and sad to read this court ruling. However, I unfortunately I did not expected anything else. I wonder when will this world start working properly and moving forward not backwards. It is an offense to ones intelligence to read this kind of events.

  2. What the *%£$!. No wonder this country is such a joke in the rest of the world!
    A superior is always responsible for the actions of his subordinates. The fact he didn’t witness or “know” about this event is no excuse. He should have established when first appointed that his subordinates were fully aware of what was acceptable behaviour and monitored them at all times. Their actions are clear indication that he failed in the most basic function of his post and he should have had the integrity and honour to have tended his resignation as soon as the incident came to light. The officers who appointed him as deputy head should be under the spotlight as well, as they obviously promoted someone to a position that was beyond his abilities and their superiors judgemental skills should be reviewed all the way up the chain of command.
    An absurd court ruling which has now set a precedent for any manager/supervisor to excuse his/her incompetance in any future matters.
    It’s no wonder nothing ever gets done properly in this country – no one is responsible for anything.

  3. Parents should be responsible for Minors! The blame is never too high, and the responsibility of actions should start from the top down for any actions of an individual! If you don’t know what is going on in your own communal area how do you know what is going on outside those doors? Once again, the reponsibility for a groups actions is placed on the individual, no upper management responsibility! So why have a superior if they have no control or resonsibility for the actions below? Sad, truly sad…. Wake up Slovakia! When you don’t do somthing to prevent this from happening, you are as guilty as the people acting on ignorance!

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