Rules of engagement
Far-right pundits persistently raise the question: What would have ensued if the police officer stationed at the Agioi Anargyroi police station had intervened with his firearm to halt the man who murdered his ex-partner? Let us address their inquiry. Given the proficiency exhibited by the Hellenic Police (ELAS), today we would not only be mourning the loss of the 28-year-old victim but also the proprietor of the nearby betting store.
The shallowness of the public discourse is striking, as it swiftly fixated on the issue concerning the use of what should be deemed the last resort for a security official. Equally remarkable is the consistent lamentation about police officers purportedly being “afraid to use their guns.” Over the past three years, there have been three instances of unarmed individuals being fatally shot by the police.
The shallowness of the public discourse is striking, as it swiftly fixated on the issue concerning the use of what should be deemed the last resort for a security official
I am not solely referring to the usual suspects, such as the far-right Spartiates (Spartans) party, but also to New Democracy folk, such as former minister Notis Mitarachi, who stated: “We need to reassess the rules of engagement for the use of weapons by police officers. Imagine if the guard at the station had drawn his gun before the assailant stabbed the unfortunate woman and shot him. Most likely, today the opposition would be decrying extreme police brutality, and the officer would have been apprehended, facing the prospect of spending his life behind bars” (Open TV 03/04/2024). I mention Mitarachi not because of his education in the UK (indeed, what do unarmed police officers do in such cases there?), but because of his prior role as minister of citizen protection, and given the prime minister’s rotation system, there’s a risk of seeing him in the same position again.
I also dismiss the erroneous assertion that the police officer “would face a life sentence” – even Epaminondas Korkoneas (a police special guard convicted of the deadly shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 in the downtown Athens district of Exarchia) is no longer in jail. But before revising “the rules of engagement for the use of weapons,” should we perhaps first review “the rules of engagement of police officers with civilians”? Before resorting to their firearms, there were numerous other steps the police officers could have taken – steps they neglected to take.
There exists an underground yet pervasive belief in Greek society that violence is the solution to every problem. This belief manifests in various forms, from the leniency extended to the November 17 terrorist organization (“Well done to them,” as someone wrote), to the tolerance exhibited by protesters toward rioters (“They should be feared,” someone else wrote), to the calls for “harsher sentences” (which the government eagerly enforces), and to the renewed discourse on gun use by police officers. Instead of delving into why a citizen cannot even feel safe at a police station, we resort to diatribes about escalating state violence.
