A complaint has been lodged over a police officer striking a 14-year-old girl protesting the killing of Ahuvia Sandak. The girl said that her face was heavily bruised from the blow she received, commenting, "Police officers are not supposed to behave like this."
The 14-year-old girl was punched in the face by a police officer during a demonstration held at the Harp Bridge in protest of the death of the late Ahuvia Sandak.
The girl, a resident of Jerusalem, said that while demonstrating and standing on the sidewalk, several policemen tried to fend off the protesters: "The police tried to stop them and push the boys towards the sidewalk while shouting at the other protesters to take a few steps back."
Moments after asking the protesters to step back, a policeman pushed the protesters who were standing on the sidewalk, and the girl who was standing next to the car felt a blow. "People were shocked and watching, and I still did not realize what had happened, and then I felt like I was tasting blood. Someone quickly photographed my face and that's how I saw what happened to me," the girl said.
The girl pointed to the policeman who pushed her and hit her in the face and other protesters approached him and asked to take his details while they were photographing him.
The girl said that her face was more bruised from the blow she received and claimed "policemen should not behave like this. An older policeman who beats a girl like me is out of line."
Menashe Yado from the Honenu organization who represents the girl in question, said, "If such a punch can be thrown in the face of a little girl during a legitimate demonstration, it also shows that the police cannot be trusted to maintain restraint and patience and not exercise their authority in a brutal, abusive, and harmful manner."
The Israel Police statement read: "During efforts to restore order in a protest in which stones were thrown at a police car and civilian vehicles, the main entrance to the city was blocked intermittently by protesters and some confronted the police. Note that the case described is not known to us at all '