Czech Police say attack on disabled man was not committed by a Romani person

"A Rom attacks and robs a wheelchair user near the Andy department store in Česká Lípa…" – this was the title accompanying a video recording posted to YouTube last Thursday from the mobile telephone of Radek Bachtík, who according to the tabloid news server Blesk.cz is a 20-year-old high school student. The dramatic video shows a man kicking a wheelchair user in the face and has begun to spread online like an avalanche.  

The sharing of the footage has included racist, vulgar opinions against Romani people. Police clarified the entire incident on Friday and one result of their investigation is that the assailant was not in fact Romani.

"Today, 31 July 2014 at 15:49 I witnessed a ‘Romani fellow citizen’ attack a defenseless victim in a wheelchair, steal everything he had, and brutally assault him to boot. When his girlfried attempted to protect him, the attacker was aggressive toward her as well before finally fleeing in the direction of the parking lot at the Andy department Store. The video unfortunately is a low-quality recording," Bachtík wrote online when he posted the footage last Thursday.  

Because racist, vulgar insults against Romani people began to spread online beneath the posting and the situation in the town was very tense, the town of Česká Lípa and by extension the Municipal Police responded to the situation very quickly. "The area where the alleged attack occurred is unfortunately not in range of municipal police cameras. The cameras that do feature there belong to the Andy department store. Municipal Police staffers know the participants in this incident well. On the day this video recording was acquired, a Municipal Police patrol coincidentally happened to be in the area responding to a call about dog off of his leash. The trio who were filmed appeared to the patrol to be friends with one another. The entire incident is being investigated by the Police of the Czech Republic. It is possible that everything was just staged for the cameraman," a Municipal Police statement published on Friday morning read.    

Bachtík has rejected the allegations that he was in some sort of arrangement with the actors in the conflict. "I was riding past on my bicycle and heard some shouting. Then I filmed what was happening. I saw people yelling at me that I should be calling the police," the student told the tabloid news server Blesk.cz.

The Czech Police have clarified the incident after hearing the statement of the wheelchair user who was attacked. "On Thursday at around 15:50, a 26-year-old man contacted the operatoins center by calling the Czech Police line 158 and informed officers that he had been robbed by an acquaintance at around 14:00 in Česká Lípa," said Ivana Baláková, press spokesperson for the Czech Police.  

Officers set out after the victim to learn more information about the case and caught up with him in the center of town. The wheelchair user told them that a certain man who had been accompanying him and who he knows only by his first name had stolen two meal vouchers from him.  

"He did not mention any physical attack and had no visible injuries. Given that he was under the influence of alcohol, the officers postponed taking a statement from him until Friday," Baláková said.

The officers took the wheelchair user’s statement on Friday and investigated whether he had been physically assaulted. "The officers responded on Friday to the video recording that was published of an attack on a wheelchair user in Česká Lípa by a Romani man. When asked that specific question, the [wheelchair user] confirmed he had been assaulted in connection with the theft of the meal vouchers. According to his statement, he had received the vouchers from a stranger after he and his companion asked the stranger for either food or money outside of Kaufland," Baláková said.      

Each man was reportedly given two vouchers and the wheelchair user put his in his backpack. Some time later he discovered the vouchers were missing and accused his acquaintance of stealing them, starting an argument with him.  

"That man then attempted to kick [the wheelchair user] in the head, who defended himself against the attack with his arms. He was not injured and the assailant fled," Baláková said, adding that the wheelchair user had not complained of the incident on Thursday to the officers because he had reportedly been more bothered by the missing meal vouchers.

"The individual knew his attacker only by his first mane and officers are now trying to establish his identity. According to the victim, the perpetrator is by no means a man of Romani ethnicity. That means the information about it being a Rom who assaulted the wheelchair user is untrue. The author who broadcast his randomly-obtained recording of the incident was merely speculating about the nationality of the attacker," Baláková clarified.  

Officers will probably charge the assailant, who is still at large, with rioting. They must also figure out who actually has the wheelchair user’s meal vouchers.