Court: "Considering the Minor Degree of Assault and the Defendant's Faithful Service"
A police officer who assaulted a teenager under police protection for using abusive language has received a suspended sentence.
On May 14, the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 14 Single Judge (Presiding Judge Gong Woojin) announced that it had suspended a sentence of two months in prison and one year of disqualification for former police officer A (61), who was indicted on charges of abuse of official authority resulting in assault.
A suspended sentence is a ruling in which the court postpones the execution of a sentence for a minor crime, and if the defendant does not reoffend for two years from the date of suspension, the conviction is effectively nullified.
A is accused of grabbing the hair and restraining the body of teenager B, who was under police protection, at a police substation where A was working as an inspector at around 2:36 a.m. on January 11 last year.
According to the investigation, A committed the act out of anger after hearing B use abusive language toward a fellow police officer in front of the substation restroom.
At the time, officers at the substation had found B during a search after receiving a report from B's parents asking for help to find their child, and were in the process of providing protection. It was confirmed that B's parents had reported to the police that day, stating, "A man gave something strange like drugs to the child, and (the child) left home."
The court stated, "The police officer could not control his anger and assaulted the victim under protection, so the nature of the crime is not light," and added, "The victim also wishes for the defendant to be punished."
However, the court explained, "The defendant has fully confessed to the crime and is showing remorse," and "The crime was committed impulsively in the process of restraining the victim, who was causing a disturbance and using abusive language toward the officers." The court further stated, "The degree of violence was minor, and the defendant, who was appointed as a police officer in 1992 and retired in June 2024, received several commendations and served faithfully without ever being disciplined," explaining the reasons for sentencing.
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