Some policemen ‘unfit’ for guns

Almost 200 policemen are likely to have their firearms removed after psychometric tests, which began last year, revealed that they are mentally unfit to carry weapons, it was revealed yesterday. Medical experts appointed by the Citizens’ Protection Ministry to carry out the tests said that they had assessed 5,925 policemen so far and found that 197 of them were not suitable to be armed by the force. The tests began last year after a 37-year-old officer who was guarding the US ambassador’s residence in Athens mistakenly shot and injured a private security guard last July. It later emerged that the policeman had been seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication prior to the shooting. The policemen was remanded in the psychiatric wing of Korydallos Prison after the incident.