National Police Chief Vyhivskyi comments for the first time on the murder of police officers in Cherkasy region: veteran status is no excuse
The head of the National Police, Ivan Vyhivskyi, commented for the first time on the shooting in the Cherkasy region, which resulted in the deaths of four police officers.
He made this statement in an exclusive comment to Censor.NET.
Details
According to him, investigators and operatives, backed by special police forces, arrived in the village to search for a person suspected of committing a serious crime.
"At the scene, the police informed him that they were starting an investigation. The police were ready for any turn of events, including gunfire. These were special police officers with combat experience. They spoke to him calmly, taking into account his status as a war veteran.
However, he barricaded himself in and refused to communicate. So the police asked his comrades to talk to him. At that moment – and these moments became critically important – he quietly left the property and set up an ambush near the road in a wooded area," said Vyhivskyi.
His comrades did not find him in the house and requested that representatives of the community be present during the search, so the community police officers went to find him.
They were the first victims of the suspect, who shot at their car at close range, killing one and injuring the other.
"Then he approached the wounded man at close range and tried to shoot him. When our police officer pointed out that he was a local community police officer and the suspect recognised him, the attacker said, "All right, live," and went into ambush," the head of the National Police continued.
The shooting of the community police officers took place 500 metres from the suspect's house.
"When special forces responded to the shots and arrived at the scene, he shot the police officers from his ambush. Even though our special forces officers were bleeding to death but still alive, he shot them at point-blank range. In the end, the shooter was eliminated," he added.
According to Vyhivskyi, some people in the media are now "heroising" this veteran.
"I have read the comments and opinions of various activists and bloggers. Many do not see him as a cold-blooded killer who, knowing that the person was already wounded, deliberately and cold-bloodedly finished them off.
We respect all military personnel and veterans, many of whom are police officers, but combat status is no excuse for committing deliberate murders, especially with such cruelty," he concluded.
What preceded it?
- On 27 January, the head of the National Police of Ukraine, Ivan Vyhivskyi, reported that in the Cherkasy region, a man wanted for murder opened fire on law enforcement officers during his arrest, killing four police officers. Special police forces eliminated the shooter.
- Four police officers were killed in the shooting.
- According to the National Police, the fire was opened by a former military man.
