The Provincial Court of Las Palmas has issued a search and arrest warrant for a former National Police agent, who was sentenced along with a colleague by the Supreme Court to four and a half years in prison for crimes against moral integrity and illegal detention. This agent was tried in November 2007 for subduing, detaining and kicking the African George Annan, while off duty, in the Arrecife bar "El Linde".
The policeman Javier R.C. was supposed to have presented himself in July to enter Tahíche prison. However, he did not go to prison and, therefore, a search and arrest warrant has been issued, as confirmed by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) from its press office. These same sources state that this order, issued by the Sixth Section of the Provincial Court, has been sent to all of Spain and, in the event that this former police officer is located, he will be immediately arrested and imprisoned.
At the time, the Provincial Court of Las Palmas, which convicted him in the first instance, considered it proven that in the early hours of November 5, 2005, upon leaving the Arrecife bar "El Linde", Javier R.C. asked George Annan, who was accompanied by another compatriot, "What, are you selling something?", to which Annan replied "I'm not selling anything!, who are you to tell me what?". From there, the agent pushed the African while the other defendant, Juan Carlos E., took care of Annan's friend who managed to flee.
Annan fled thinking that those who were chasing him were "bandits", but he was finally reached on La Porra street, where Javier R. C. threw him to the ground and kicked him in the eye, causing bruises and contusions from which he did not heal until 30 days later.
Without identifying themselves
After Javier R. C. called another colleague from the force who was inside the bar, known as Pesi, to ask for reinforcements and after he told the two agents to release Annan, Pesi finally called the police station. Several police units arrived at the scene and, without the two culprits identifying themselves at any time, or informing him of his arrest or his rights, they requested handcuffs from the newly arrived colleagues, who took Annan to police headquarters.
According to the sentence, the irregularities continued because it was the convicted police officers themselves, despite being off duty and claiming that Javier R.C. had been attacked by Annan, who took care of the procedures of the arrest. And in the meantime, according to what the sentence considered proven, there was no shortage of insults, those that Juan Carlos E. dedicated to the detainee after asking him to look at him. "He gave him two slaps to make him lower (his head) again, shouting `no fucking black piece of shit has done to me what you have done´, ´lower your head, you piece of shit monkey´".
The court also considered it proven that at the request of the police officer who was in charge of the report of the event, the agents went to the doctor to justify a prior aggression by the man they had illegally detained. "During the journey in the police vehicle, the accused were laughing, joking and even hitting and pushing each other in order to present some injury, but along the way", explains the ruling. Already on the way back, the agent Juan Carlos E. argued with the investigating police officer to whom he said that he had "no fucking idea", when he asked for details of what happened. Juan Carlos E., according to the sentence, forced his partner to record the facts as he was dictating them.
