[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that a police officer’s emergency arrest of a vehicle owner who deliberately parked a car blocking the entrance to a construction site was not a legitimate official act.
On the 3rd, the Human Rights Commission reported that excessive use of physical force, constituting a human rights violation, occurred during the arrest of the vehicle owner, and recommended that the police officer be disciplined and receive job training, urging the chief of the affiliated police station to take action.
On October 4th last year, complainant A visited a nearby construction site to protest noise issues and parked their car at the entrance of the construction site before returning home. Police officers who responded to the report visited A’s home and persuaded them to move the vehicle, then accompanied A to the construction site. However, when A continued to refuse to move the vehicle, the officer made an emergency arrest on charges of obstruction of business. Although A eventually told the officer they would move the car, the officer had already arrested A and transported them to the police substation.
At the substation, when A refused to wear handcuffs, the officer grabbed A’s shoulder, pressed A’s neck with a knee to subdue them, and then handcuffed A. The officer explained, “A showed no intention to move the vehicle even after arriving at the construction site, and considering the delay in construction, I made the emergency arrest.”
The Human Rights Commission stated, “The ‘urgency’ required for an emergency arrest means a situation where it is difficult to obtain a warrant due to concerns such as evidence destruction or flight risk,” and judged, “In this case, it is hard to see a flight risk, and it does not meet the conditions for an emergency arrest.”
In particular, the Commission explained the reason for its recommendation, saying, “Although A did not attempt self-harm or other actions, the police officer’s arbitrary decision to press the complainant’s neck with a knee and handcuff them cannot be regarded as a legitimate official duty.”
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