"There Were Other Ways Besides Slapping"... Police Officer Who Slapped Disorderly Drunk Ultimately Dismissed

Citizen Assaults Taxi Driver and Police Officer While Intoxicated
Caused Disturbance for 30 Minutes at Police Substation
Officer A Slapped 8 Times Trying to Restrain
Paid 5 Million Won Settlement but Dismissed from Position

A police officer who slapped a drunken person multiple times after being taken to the police station for causing a disturbance has been dismissed.

Image unrelated to the article content.
Photo by Yonhap News

On the 28th, Yonhap News reported that the Gwanak Police Station in Seoul held a disciplinary committee on the 13th and dismissed Officer A (49), who was under investigation for abuse of authority, citing abuse of authority and violation of duty to obey orders. Abuse of authority refers to violence inflicted by a public official performing duties related to personal restraint during the course of their duties.

Earlier, at around 12:55 a.m. on October 15 last year, a drunken citizen B (in his 20s) caused a disturbance to a taxi driver in his 70s. B also assaulted the face of a police officer who responded to the call. Later, at around 1:30 a.m. the same day, he was taken to the police station, where he continued to cause a disturbance by shouting insults such as "You are a police officer because you are ignorant." In response, former Officer A slapped B eight times while trying to restrain him, and B reported to 119 (emergency medical services) that "I was hit by the police." Afterwards, former Officer A visited B, bowed his head in apology, and offered a settlement of 5 million won.

The disciplinary committee stated, "Former Officer A claims that his misconduct was not tolerable as an abuse of public authority, but he could have restrained B by other means," and also reported him to the prosecution. However, the prosecution took the circumstances into consideration and decided not to prosecute.

"Please Do Not Report Drunken People," Police Complaint

An active police officer is appealing not to report intoxicated individuals.
[Photo by Online Community]

Meanwhile, a police complaint asking people not to report drunken individuals became a hot topic last month on social networking services (SNS) and online communities. In a community that requires employment verification, a user C, who completed job verification as a "National Police Agency" officer, stated, "Please do not report drunken people and pretend not to see them," adding, "Drunken people require joint response, so when reported to 112, both police officers and firefighters respond, and when reported to 119, both firefighters and police officers respond. Even when dispatched, police officers and firefighters can do nothing but wait until the person sobers up." He continued, "I hope that the precious 119 personnel who can save lives and the 112 personnel who can protect victims and subdue criminals will not be unable to respond to urgent scenes due to drunken person reports."

C also said, "Honestly, when a drunken person report comes in, if you try to stimulate the person to wake them up, they often assault the responders causing dental injuries or orbital fractures, so we have to stay still and wait until the drunken person sobers up," adding, "Sometimes, when I see colleagues injured at the scene, I feel resentful toward the person who reported the drunken individual."

According to a survey conducted by the National Police Agency last year, about 1 million drunken person reports are received annually, accounting for 4.7% of all 112 reports. This means an average of 2,700 reports per day. The legal basis for police response to drunken individuals is the Police Duty Execution Act, which allows police to take protective measures at the police station if they find a citizen who is intoxicated and poses a risk to their own or others' life, body, or property. Following a 2021 court ruling, the person in need of protection must first be handed over to family or others, and in the case of an unconscious drunken person, emergency measures must be taken and the person transported to a drunken person emergency medical center, as specified in the National Police Agency manual.