Horrifying moment off-duty cop chokes ‘phone thief' to death as desperate bystanders beg him to stop
The 58-year-old Spanish cop was out for dinner with a friend on Tuesday when the alleged thief stole his phone in northeastern Madrid.
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A police officer was caught pressing on a suspected thief's neck
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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The brutal chokehold killed the man
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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The unnamed cop will appear in court
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
the suspect
down the street then slammed him to the ground and held him in a chokehold.
In a desperate attempt to stop him from killing the alleged thief, locals are heard calling: "please let him breathe".
"You're going to suffocate the guy, man. Let go of his neck," one shouts.
Another can be heard saying: "He's not going to run away. Just let him go."
Ignoring their pleas, the officer continues to press down on the man's neck before
police
and paramedics arrived at the scene.
But despite medics' attempt at saving him, he was soon pronounced dead after suffering from cardia arrest.
Emergency services confirmed in a statement that a 36-year-old man had died of asphyxiation after 30 minutes of attempted resuscitation.
Officers arrested the unnamed cop who appeared in court today.
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The devastating incident has sparked outrage in Spain, with some drawing comparisons to the killing of
Sharing their horror online, one person posted: ''I can't breathe.' These were the words George Floyd uttered minutes before his death when a New York police officer killed him by asphyxiation."
Cops release CCTV footage in hunt for man after 'attempted rape' of woman in her 30s at cinema
Another wrote: "Murdering a person for a simple phone. An off-duty municipal police officer suffocates a person.
"This is how the capitalist world is, a telephone is worth more than a person's life. What a disgusting society!"
Spain
's progressive party Más Madrid also weighed in, calling the assault a reflection of how "institutional racism" and "abuse of power" are normalized.
A spokesperson said: "Two police officers, who were apparently under the influence of alcohol, have murdered a person in Torrejón. T
"This reflects how institutional racism and abuse of power are normalized, even outside of working hours.
"We demand an immediate investigation into this alleged murder due to asphyxiation caused by a police officer in Torrejón."
This isn't the first time a case like this has taken place in Madrid.
Read more on the Irish Sun
In 2018, protests erupted in the city after a Senegalese vendor was shot dead in the Italian city of Florence.
Some 19 protesters and 10 police officers were injured as clashes spread across the city.
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It's believed the cop was drinking at the time
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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The horrific video was captured by a neighbour
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
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Spanish tourist raped in Dublin city centre bravely waives anonymity to open up on night of hell She arrived home around 3am, forgetting to lock the door and got into bed fully dressed before falling asleep. Unbeknown to her, Watson-Williams, who was listening from the floor below, waited until he could no longer hear movement before breaking into her home and attacking her. Naomi, who now works as a nurse prescriber, says: "I had a hardwood floor. The man who raped me could hear when I walked into the bathroom and the bedroom. "He would have been able to hear me getting into bed, and the fact that there was no movement for a while must have been when he thought I was asleep - and the opportunity to carry out his plan. "I woke up and then there's always that split second where you are not quite sure what is happening... and then I realised very quickly." During the attack, Naomi says she pretended to be asleep as she feared Watson-Williams might "turn violent". "I felt like if I tried to fight him off that he would try to strangle me, and the situation would become a lot worse. ''I did want to see who it was, so I squinted. I knew exactly who it was, and I think that made me even more scared. "As we all know with men there is always an endpoint, and I pretended to be asleep until that endpoint. He went away as soon as it was over. "I was too scared to get out of bed because I knew he could hear me." 5 Naomi was 21 at the time of the horror attack Credit: SWNS 5 She was forced to face her attacker for two months afterwards as he lived below her Credit: SWNS In the aftermath of the attack, Naomi struggled to come to terms with what had happened. She says: "The next few days were a blur, I went into a state of shock." She confided in her close friends but felt unable to face going to the police. After the rape, Naomi says Watson-Williams acted as though nothing had happened, and he continued to intercept her on the stairs. 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Sunday World
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Sunday World
10 hours ago
- Sunday World
Spaniard living in Ireland goes viral with TikTok post about 'spoiled Irish children'
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