The key facts

  • A Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk resident alleged the use of force by traffic police officers on October 31 near building No. 557 on Lenin Street
  • According to her, medics recorded a hematoma and facial swelling, a bruised chest, dizziness and a fever
  • The woman had been driving after her disqualification period expired without retaking the exam

What happened

A resident of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk reported abuse of authority and unlawful use of force by traffic police officers, reports the Telegram channel “Incidents, Accidents. Sakhalin — Point of Reference”,which Gazeta.Ru cites. According to the woman, the incident occurred on October 31 near building No. 557 on Lenin Street.

The circumstances according to the woman

The Sakhalin resident admits she was previously disqualified from driving for a month, but says the term expired on June 5 and her license was surrendered to the traffic police; she did not retake the exam because she is raising a child alone and works a lot. On November 1, she briefly left her sick seven-year-old son at home and went to a store with a friend. Inspectors stopped the car and announced that it would be towed to an impound lot.

Allegation of use of force

The woman said she had the right to eliminate the reason for the detention on the spot and called a driver with a valid license. According to her, the inspectors did not wait, called a tow truck and used force: they pulled her out of the car, twice slammed her head against the asphalt, stepped on her back, twisted her arms, put handcuffs on her and kicked her in the ribs. At the police station she demanded an ambulance be called. Medics recorded a hematoma and facial swelling, a bruised chest, dizziness and a fever.

What remains unclear

The account presented is the woman's own statement, circulated via a Telegram channel; Gazeta.Ru's publication contains neither an official position from the traffic police or the police, nor any information about a probe or case being opened. The article comes against the backdrop of other reports of conflicts involving traffic police officers: earlier, Gazeta.Ru wrote that in Moscow a passerby slashed a traffic officer with a knife during the handling of an accident involving an e-bike,and that this passerby was charged. These Moscow cases are not connected to the Sakhalin incident.