Czech Interior Minister backs police intervention against Romani man in Teplice during which officers knelt on detainee's neck

Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamáček is backing the police officers who intervened on Saturday in Teplice against a Romani man who the police say subsequently collapsed in the ambulance that was called to the scene and died. “The intervening police officers have my full support. Anybody under the influence of addictive substances who breaks the law has to count on the police intervening. It is mainly thanks to the work of policemen and policewomen that we are among the top 10 safest countries in the world,” Hamáček commented in response to a police tweet insisting the Teplice incident is not an example of a “Czech George Floyd”.  

Some Romani community members and their allies see the police intervention differently and are calling the Romani man who died in Teplice the “Romani George Floyd”. The Interior Minister’s statement absolutely ignored the call from the civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs that he prioritize the case. 

The incident transpired on Saturday afternoon in Teplice and was filmed by a resident from the window of a building overlooking the scene. The footage shows three police officers intervening against a man who is resisting.

One officer holds the man’s legs while another kneels on his neck for several minutes. The third helps to handcuff the screaming man.

By the end of the video, the man is no longer moving. Police claim that his collapse and subsequent death happened after he was placed in the ambulance called to the scene.