The picture of a riot policeman wearing knuckle gloves with horn enhancement during a protest has triggered outrage in Greece’s social media and enforced the police to launch an investigation and issue a statement. The policeman was seen on Thursday outside the Finance ministry during a protest staged by the laid-off cleaners.
State TV NERIT: Outrage over the policeman’s “enhanced” glove
In a statement issued on Friday Greek police said that the knuckle gloves were not part of the riot uniform and that they cannot be used during service. “The office is under internal investigation for disciplinary charges,” the police statement said after making clear it was not an iron fist.
The special horn panel at the height of the fist can be dangerous for anyone who gets hit by someone wearing such gloves.
Such knuckle gloves with horn panels are normally used by motorbike drivers, Greek media note, although a search on internet shows that hard-knuckle gloves can also be used by law enforcement officers and tactical operators.
So why does these knuckle gloves matter? Ιs this policeman the only one with knuckle gloves?
On a footage filmed last Tuesday again during a cleaners protest, a riot policeman was caught on camera hitting a protester on the head.
Also he was wearing a knuckle glove.
This morning I saw on news magazine Live U on private Skai TV, a footage where the beaten cleaner was speaking about the painful experience:
“I felt I was hit by iron. I saw some stars.”
Νevertheless, on Friday afternoon, the riot policeman who hit the cleaner on the head was suspended from duty by order of the new minister for Public Order and Citizen Protection Vasilis Kikilias.
