Czech Deputy Public Defender of Rights will investigate controversial police intervention after which Romani community member Stanislav Tomáš died

Monika Šimůnková, the Czech Deputy Public Defender of Rights, has announced in an interview for ROMEA TV that she will be investigating Saturday's intervention by a police patrol in Teplice after which 46-year-old Stanislav Tomáš, a Romani community member, died. "After watching the video of the intervention in Teplice and reading all of the available information, I've decided to use my competencies and the scope of activity made possible by the law on the Public Defender of Rights with respect to the Police of the Czech Republic to begin an investigation on my own initiative," she told ROMEA TV.
"This investigation will focus on the proportionality of the methods of force used during the intervention in Teplice," Šimůnková said. According to her, the investigation will be launched in the next few days and the results will depend on how quickly the Czech Police provide her office with the relevant materials.
"I don't dare predict the timeframe, it could be weeks, it could be months. I am bound by my duty to maintain confidentiality until the case is closed and the entire matter has been investigated, but I will try to conduct this investigation as quickly as possible," she said.
The incident in Teplice after which Mr Tomáš died happened on Saturday, 19 June 2021, and amateur video footage of the intervention was posted to social media from which it is apparent that Mr Tomáš physically resisted and shouted and the intervening officers used force to restrain him, including kneeling on his neck. News server Romea.cz previously reported the intervening officer knelt on the Romani detainee's neck for several minutes, according to the video.
According to police, Mr Tomáš collapsed and died in the ambulance called to the scene. The video shows that he stopped moving while still prone on the sidewalk.
Don't miss:
- Romani Lives Matter. Czech town sees candles and flowers placed at the site of the tragic death of a Romani man after police intervention involving kneeling on his neck
- Czech Police release new video footage of what preceded police intervention against Romani man who died thereafter
- Civil society members of the Czech Govt Roma Council ask Interior Minister to prioritize the thorough investigation of the death of a Romani man after a police intervention
- Czech Police: According to court-ordered autopsy, death of young Romani man unconnected to police intervention
- Czech Police statement on their kneeling intervention: Internal Affairs is investigating, autopsy will determine cause of death, the man collapsed in the ambulance
- Romani man dies after Czech Police kneel on his neck, they say drugs caused his death. Romani activists see parallels to George Floyd
Related articles:
- Czech Police seem to prevent Romani refugees from disembarking at station, but say they just informed them there is no accommodation available in the country's second-largest city
- Czech Deputy Public Defender of Rights: Police ignored whether the man they restrained was even alive, ambulance called too late
- Jihlava, Czech Republic flies the Romani flag in honor of World Roma Day
- Czech and international organizations support bereaved family with Constitutional Court complaint over death of Stanislav Tomáš in police custody
- Czech General Inspection of Security Forces claims officers' procedure in case of Romani man who died in custody was correct
- Czech Deputy Public Defender of Rights finds police officers made significant errors in the controversial arrest of Stanislav Tomáš
- Czech court gives suspended sentence to woman who threatened to burn down police station in the aftermath of the death of Stanislav Tomáš
- MEPs compare death of Stanislav Tomáš in the Czech Republic to that of George Floyd in the USA
- Case of Stanislav Tomáš discussed during plenary session of the European Parliament
- Czech activist on the investigation into the death of Stanislav Tomáš: Slowly but surely, it's moving forward, and it will be a marathon
- European Parliament will discuss police brutality against Romani people in EU, on the basis of Czech case
- Greece: Romani youth was holding his hands above his head when police shot him dead, according to eyewitness