The United States Embassy in Israel sent a rare request to the Police Internal Investigations Unit to receive the cellular phone of Yaakov Tuhi, a 50-year-old resident of Jaffa who worked for the embassy and was shot dead by an off-duty Border Police officer during an argument over a parking spot, Esti Perez-Ben-Ami reported on Kan Reshet Bet on Wednesday.
The Internal Investigations Unit was surprised by the request and claimed that the phone was not in their possession. Following an investigation, Kan News found that the phone was still being held by the Israel Police, who, prior to Kan News' inquiry, were unaware that the embassy had requested to receive it.
The Internal Investigations Unit commented on the report: "The telephone or any other digital device that belonged to Yaakov Tuhi is not being held by the Internal Investigations Unit."
The Israel Police stated: "The phone is being held on to by the police at the Internal Investigations Unit's request and will be transferred to a representative of the US Embassy."