Jaroslav Miko on the death of a Romani man after a police intervention: It is legitimate to demand the entire incident be investigated

During the recent incident in Teplice a young person died. Let's set aside, for the moment, the intervention by the police, or whether it was adequate given the situation and the state of health of the detainee, or whether different methods could have been used to arrest this suspect, or whether the intervention did or did not have a direct influence on his demise.
The people whose competencies and expertise allow them to assess those questions objectively should do so. Speaking for myself, I would just like to say that calling for the investigation of this entire incident is an absolutely legitimate demand.
What is predominating on social media, however, once again, are cheap judgments that the person involved was "just a drug addict", or even that he was "a mere Rom", so what is there to be addressed? People generally like to make such cheap judgments about others.
Most probably these people have the feeling that they themselves are superior when they make such judgments. We don't know why this person used drugs, what his childhood was like, what his intellect was like, what his living conditions were like.
By saying this I am not defending the use of narcotics, I am just trying to say that people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs are more in need of our help than our judgment. This person decidedly did not deserve to die and at a minimum, if anybody still has any basic empathy for the relatives of the deceased or respect for human life in general, then they should refrain from such cheap public judgments - and if they are high-level politicians, that applies even more.
The fact that the person involved was Romani should never have been and cannot be a reason to make light of his death. I know we do not live in an ideal world and it's not possible to prevent such unfair attitudes, but I feel the need to publicly state my views on this.
Don't miss:
- Czech Govt Human Rights Commissioner calls for investigation of police intervention against Romani man who later died to be made a priority
- Amnesty International calls on the Czech authorities to immediately, impartially and thoroughly investigate the police intervention after which a Romani man died
- Czech Police President backs officers who intervened against Romani man who later died, expresses regret at the loss of life - the first such statement
- Council of Europe seeks independent, thorough investigation of the death of Romani community member Stanislav Tomáš in Teplice, Czech Republic
- Czech Deputy Public Defender of Rights will investigate controversial police intervention after which Romani community member Stanislav Tomáš died
- 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 firefighters erect another "tent city" for refugees in the Malešice neighborhood of Prague
- Open Society Foundations pledges to invest in new European Roma Foundation for 2023
- NGO director in Czech Republic says politicians' rhetoric about "inadaptable" Roma is dangerous, some non-Roma refugees from Ukraine are reportedly aggressive toward local Roma here
- Civil society members of the Czech Govt Roma Council after meeting with PM: We submitted our proposals for solutions to the Romani refugee crisis already in March
- Romania: 100 Roma demonstrate in Bucharest in front of Russian Embassy with mockup of the tank that Romani Ukrainians captured from the occupiers
- Czech capital's "tent city" receives first Romani refugees from Ukraine
- Czech university distances itself from e-mail alleging increased security needed for dorm because of refugees from Ukraine
- Czech Interior Minister wants stricter checks on the passports held by refugees and changes to the aid offered them
- Volunteer aiding refugees from Ukraine in Czech Republic: Institutionalized racism definitively condemns Romani people to a hopeless fate
- Czech detention facility housing 130+ refugees from Ukraine, half of them are Romani
- Prague asks the Czech state for aid with accommodation of groups of Romani refugees from Ukraine, mayor says the state's effort has failed so far
- Mayor of Czech Republic's second city alleges Romani refugees sleeping in the train station can access benefits in other countries, then admits she can't prove it
Tags:
death after police intervention, Internet, Roma, TepliceHEADLINE NEWS
