Police officer shoots and kills 20-year-old in car chase; arrested and later released

A police officer was arrested after he shot and killed a 20-year-old Syrian national following a car chase outside the city of Larisa in central Greece on Saturday.

According to the police, the victim was driving a pickup truck that had been stolen from Athens when officers signaled him to stop at the Moschohori toll station near Larissa.

The 20-year-old increased speed and officers chased him for a while until he returned to Moshohori and smashed the car on a wall.

He tried to escape on foot and one of the officers chasing him shot and killed him. An ambulance was called to the scene but was unable to resuscitate him.

In his testimony to prosecutor, the 45-year-old police officer reportedly said that he stumbled upon a wire fence [or something] and the gun fired itself killing the 20-year-old man.

Based on the evidence so far, it appears that the policeman’s life was not in danger, as the 20-year-old was at a distance of sevral meters away from the 45-year-old and was running to avoid arrest.

According to state broadcaster ERT and local media, the bullet hit the victim in the ribs from a distance that could reach over 1.5 meters.

Local onlarissa.gr reported that the victim was unarmed.

The police officer stayed at prosecutor’s office just ten minutes on Sunday and he was released as the autopsy has not been occluded yet and further Police internal investigation continues.

His lawyer told media that his client was “devastated.”

The victim had been released from prison last March where he served time for trafficking migrants, police sources leaked to media.

It is rather impossible that the officer knew about the victim’s criminal past during the chase.

PS and furthermore, a police officer is not a judge…