According to the Czech Inspector-General of the Security Forces, officers did not commit a crime when kneeling on neck of man who later died, more video footage has been posted online
The Czech Inspector-General of the Security Forces (Generální inspekce bezpečnostních sborů – GIBS) does not at this time see the behavior of the police officers who intervened against Romani community member Stanislav Tomáš in Teplice on Saturday as rising to the level of a crime. The officers used force against the 46-year-old and handcuffed him while he was prone on the ground, immobilizing him by kneeling on his neck, among other things.
Mr Tomáš died after the police intervention.. According to the preliminary results of an autopsy, police say he died of a drug overdose.
The arrest was preceded by disorderly contact for which the police were called to the scene. They found Mr Tomáš already lying on the ground, and when police approached him, they say he responded by biting and scratching them.
The officers used force to restrain and handcuff Mr Tomáš while he was prone on the ground. The restraint involved kneeling on him.
The conflict was filmed by several eyewitnesses, and because Mr Tomáš died after the intervention, many Romani social media users have begun to refer to him as the “Romani George Floyd”. More video footage taken by a bystander has been posted online in the meantime (see below).
There are now a total of three bystander videos publicized, and there is speculation that today’s press conference by police may release video footage of how Mr Tomáš was conveyed to the ambulance. In the latest video footage, shared by Romani journalist Richard Samko to his Facebook profile, the same situation is captured as that of the previous bystander video released by police.
This new footage is filmed from a different angle and is longer. The man in the video pounds his fists on a car, then bangs his head on the car twice before falling to the ground.
