Aktuálně.sk: Romani man dies of poisoning after tear gas exposure in police raid

A 46-year-old Romani man has died of suffocation as a result of a raid conducted by riot police in Tornal’a, Slovakia. Officers allegedly used a disproportionate amount of tear gas against him. News server Aktuálně.sk reports that the organization Ľudia proti rasismu (People against Racism) has filed criminal charges over the incident.

On 9 May the man, who worked in Tornal’a as part of the Romani civil patrols there, visited the operators of a carousel who were packing up to leave town and asked when they would be paying their electricity bill to the village. A scuffle broke out and the state police were called to the scene. They used tear gas to break it up.

After testifying at the police station, the Romani man was treated by emergency responders and then released. “The patient’s health was stable, there was no need to send him to a medical facility,” Falck Záchranná emergency services spokesperson Magdaléna Magdová told Aktuálně.sk.

However, on 17 May the Romani man sought medical care again, complaining of breathing difficulties. “They determined he was having difficulties breathing, his overall state of health began to deteriorate and he lost consciousness,” Magdová said.

Magdová said doctors resuscitated the patient and hospitalized him in the town of Rimavská Sobota, where he died. The autopsy report made available to Aktuálně.sk says the cause of death was severe edema of the brain preceded by overall signs of suffocation.

There are two different versions of the entire conflict. The carousel operators testified to police that the Romani civil patrol member had been drunk and behaved aggressively toward them. Police also took testimony from the civil patrol member to the effect that the carousel operators had been aggressive and drunk.

The Romani man’s family and eyewitnesses claim his behavior was normal and the use of tear gas disproportionate. He is said to have signed his testimony shortly after the police raid even though he was unable to read it because his eyes kept tearing up. An ambulance was called for him shortly after he signed the statement. Five witnesses are willing to testify to that effect.

Police did not test the Romani man’s blood alcohol level but are said to have automatically believed the claims of the carousel operators. His family, represented by the legal organization People against Racism, filed criminal charges today against the intervening police officers for commission of the crime of manslaughter, “causing death through their neglectful behavior”. His death may have been caused by “slow, gradual poisoning as a result of a disproportionate amount of tear gas.” The pathologist who performed the autopsy allegedly made that claim in a conversation with the family members of the deceased.

The charges also say the Romani man was taken advantage of while indisposed in order to get him to sign his testimony. It also asks for an investigation into whether the police officers’ conduct was racially motivated.

Aktuálně.sk sent various questions to the regional directorate of the Slovak Police Corps in Banská Bystrica. They will not be able to respond until tomorrow, as those responsible were either not available or are on sick leave.

The Slovak Interior Ministry says the Inspection Authority will review the case. “If criminal charges have been filed, the Interior Ministry’s Inspection Authority will investigate them as it does all charges. Once the results are known we will inform the public,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Erik Tomáš told Aktuálně.sk.