A Jewish youth was arrested after a police officer falsely accused him of attacking the policeman and a group of Arabs who were not even there.
The 17-year-old boy was waiting at the Tapuach Junction in Judea and Samaria on March 28, 2018, when a police officer in an unmarked vehicle approached him. The officer asked the youth to produce his ID card.
When the teen said that he had left his ID card at home, the officer accepted that he would recite his ID number by heart. The youth took out his phone and began recording the event.
When the officer saw the phone, he got out of the car and asked for the youth's ID card again before ordering the youth to come with him back to the police station.
While driving, the officer told the youth that he was being detained for "refusing to identify yourself and attacking a policeman."
The stunned teen replied, "I attacked you?"
"You attacked me and threw me into a patrol car," the policeman said.
After several minutes, the officer said "there is a report that you attacked two Palestinians here."
"I just arrived here," the youth said said. "Let's look at the cameras."
The youth was brought to the Ariel police station, where he was released and was taken by the police to his home. Following the incident, a complaint was filed with the Police Internal Investigations department to investigate the incident.
The boy's attorney, Nati Rom of Law Firm Rom, Arbus, Kedem, & Tzur, said: "this is systematic harassment against youths whose only crime is to grow peyot (sidelocks) and wear a large kippah. The video shows that the policeman threatened the boy and dealt with crimes that did not exist. In addition to submitting the complaint, he intends to file a civil suit against the policeman."
Rom said that the police had been engaged in harassment against boys who look like hilltop youth for several years, and that this was not an isolated incident. "Police are arresting teenagers only because they have peyot. It's illegal, and it needs to stop."
The police said in response: "We are surprised by the complaints against the policeman who performed his duties as required despite the fact that he received threats from the young man who broke the law and after the policeman drove him to his home. Despite his brazen behavior and implicit threats against the policeman after his identification, it was decided to release him and even drive him to the door of his home in order to get him there safely."
