Czech Prime Minister thanks police officers for their intervention against a Romani man who later died in Teplice, claims it wasn't easy for them

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who chairs the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs, has backed the police officers in Teplice and thanked them for their intervention against the late Stanislav Tomáš, who died after they arrested him. “If somebody destroys a car, is aggressive, and even bites a police officer, he cannot expect to be handled with kid gloves,” the PM commented.

“The court autopsy, moreover, has clearly demonstrated that he did not die due to the intervention by police. This is sad, but a normal, respectable person would have a hard time getting into such a situation,” the PM said. 

“I thank the police in Teplice for their work, they didn’t have it easy,” the PM has commented. According to the most recent police statement, however, the final results of the court autopsy are not yet known. 

“According to the preliminary autopsy report, there was reason to suspect the man had been under the influence of a foreign substance of an amphetamine nature, and the autopsy discovered  pathological changes to the coronary arteries of the heart,” police spokesperson Daniel Vítek previously stated. The incident, after which 46-year-old Stanislav Tomáš died in Teplice, happened on Saturday 19 June 2021.

An amateur video of the intervention has circulated on social media from which it is apparent that the man was physically resisting arrest and shouting and that the officers used force against him, including the tactic of kneeling on his neck. News server Romea.cz reported that the intervening officer knelt on the Romani detainee’s neck for several minutes. 

According to the police, Mr Tomáš then collapsed in the ambulance called to the scene and died. In the video of the intervention, however, it can be seen that Mr Tomáš stops moving while still prone on the sidewalk.