PPA officer uses firearm as 'last resort' during attack
A Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) operative had to resort to using a service weapon in an incident Sunday where an individual declined to comply with officials' orders and reportedly ran at the officer, the authority has said. The man was reportedly armed with bladed weapons.
The would-be assailant received non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident and is now hospitalized, the PPA said.
At around 9:35 p.m. Sunday evening PPA officers received a report of a blaze in the village of Mustvee, on the shores of Peipsi järv.
The report stated that the fire consisted of a bonfire, with a bicycle also on fire.
Upon arrival, the PPA personnel encountered a man who was bearing knives and who refused to comply with orders the officers gave in order to bring the situation under control.
The man initially fled from the PPA officers.
One PPA operative intercepted the man and ordered him to drop the knives, but he did not comply and started charging the officer.
The PPA stated that based on information as currently gathered, the officer then issued a warning to the man about the potential deployment of a firearm; in order to stop the attack, he ultimately had to resort to using his service weapon.
Paramedics who then arrived on scene transported the man to the hospital. His injuries are reportedly not life-threatening. The PPA officer was uninjured.
Künter Pedoski, operations manager at the PPA's Southern Prefecture, said the individual involved was already known to the authority, from previous incidents.
Pedoski added that the use of a firearm is always the last resort available to PPA officers in neutralizing a threat and is never a choice taken lightly.
The PPA has initiated a criminal investigation against the man under the Penal Code article addressing violence against a law enforcement officer. The PPA's internal control bureau has conducted an initial assessment of the actions of the officer, and has found that the use of the weapon was justified, proportionate and lawful.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael