Man who ran over two police officers in Tallinn taken into custody
The Tallinn-based Harju County Court on Friday granted permission for a man who intentionally ran over two police officers on Wednesday morning to be taken into custody.
At the request of the North District Prosecutor's Office and under the permission of the court, the 25-year-old man was taken into custody initially for up to two months.
North District Prosecutor Natalia Miilvee said that although the person has not been previously criminally convicted, the act he has committed is so serious that the prosecutor's office believes that taking him into custody is justified.
"The young man is suspected of attempted murder -- evidence gathered suggests he attempted to run over the police officers who had come to arrest him in order to escape responsibility for driving while under the influence of narcotic substances and for handling drugs. He was not stopped by the notion that, usually, driving over a person with a car could result in the person's death. Although not previously punished for committing any crimes, he has shown extreme disregard for the rule of law and the lives of others through his behavior, which is why he may pose a threat to his fellow citizens while free," Miilvee added.
Two criminal police officers of the North Prefecture of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board were injured when a 25-year-old man suspected of selling drugs ran them over during his arrest in Tallinn on Wednesday morning. One of the officials was seriously injured, but his life is not in danger, the other police officer sustained lighter injuries.
The police officers went to a parking lot on Karberi Street in Tallinn at around 10 a.m. to arrest a man regarding whom there were grounds to believe that he is involved in the sale of narcotic substances.
To avoid arrest, the 25-year-old man used an Opel passenger car to first ram the unmarked police vehicle that drove in front of it and then ran over two police officers. The car drove over the legs of a 24-year-old police officer, causing him serious injuries, and over the foot of a 30-year-old police officer. Both police officers were taken to hospital by ambulance.
The man who ran over the police officers fled the scene and his vehicle was found in Maardu at around 11 a.m. The driver himself arrived at the East-Harju police station at around 11:30 a.m. and was arrested there. He has been repeatedly been punished for traffic offenses in the past.
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Editor: Helen Wright