“Police officers who were in charge of keeping one of the arrested members of the terrorist group in Kumanovo, who managed to escape, acted unprofessionally and contrary to police procedure in such cases, leaving the person without necessary supervision,” reads the ending of the report of Sector for Internal Control and Professional Standards Unit (SICPSU) for the police action in Kumanovo, which was published on the website of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) this afternoon, exactly one month after the events in Divo naselje.
Internal Control submitted a proposal “to initiate a procedure for determining disciplinary responsibility to the competent Disciplinary Commission”.
Otherwise, according to the report, the police action in Kumanovo was performed in accordance with legal regulations regarding the use of firearms and arresting group members.
“It was concluded that the action was carried out in accordance with a plan and detailed annexes to the plan, realized through a separate headquarters, set up to command and coordinate action on field. It is established that on 9th of May, around 4.30 am, teams of the Department of special units went on field with the task of entering and securing previously located facilities. Around 5:10 pm, when approaching the buildings in the neighborhood Divo naselje, there was a direct attack on the police officers with firearms of different caliber and mine-explosive means from several directions, with which the lives of police officers were threatened. As all the conditions for the use of force in accordance with the legislation, as well as for rejecting direct and immediate attack with firearms and explosive means the police officers, as well as for forcing the wounded and the dead police officers were met, under orders of the headquarters, firearm, as well as special types of weapons, explosives and armored vehicles at their disposal unit in accordance with the formation were used,” reads the statement on the report.
According to the Sector for Internal Control, the members of the special units gradually and systematically took over the positions of “criminal-terrorist group until their final elimination on 10th of May.”
