After seven months of what the police have called a “comprehensive investigation,” an indictment has finally been filed against the police officer who assaulted attorney Dov Frenkel in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem.
According to the terms of the indictment, a certain Border Police officer who was in the area during an operation to enforce the coronavirus lockdown, attacked a passer-by without any provocation whatsoever, throwing him to the ground and causing him injury.
Frenkel, a member of the Toldot Aharon Chassidic group that is based in Mea Shearim, was at the time returning from his elderly father’s home, where he had been assisting him with his needs, as was permitted at the time according to the lockdown regulations. On the way, he passed a group of Border Police who were on their way out of the neighborhood, and they told him to go home.
Frenkel said, “Okay,” and continued on his way, but suddenly felt himself flying through the air and then landing on the ground. He suffered wounds to his knee and hands.
Attorney Liat Yunyan, of the Police Investigatory Department, stated on Wednesday that: “Following a comprehensive investigation which began shortly after the incident, an indictment has been filed against a police officer for assault leading to actual bodily harm.
"This incident took place after a demonstration that took place not far away, as police forces were exiting the Mea Shearim neighborhood. The evidence shows that the officer concerned, who was heading the police contingent, ran towards a civilian walking on the street who was not engaged in any offense whatsoever. Using both his hands, the officer shoved the man so hard that he was thrown a distance down the street.”
Yunyan added that, “Not one of the police officers came to the man’s aid as he lay on the ground.”