Policeman Oren Azoulay, 34, from Cholon, was indicted on charges of assault and battery in the Rishon L’Tzion Magistrate’s Court on Monday for alleged unjustifiable force on two separate occasions. According to the indictment, he used mace and pepper spray against unarmed civilians without justification in addition to physical force.

One case pertains to his actions on the night of July 7th, when he and other officers were called to disperse a crowd on a Cholon street. When an 18-year-old female responded “I will leave when I finish eating,” Azoulay grabbed her by the neck, pushed her and threw her to the ground and then kicked her. He then placed his foot against her back so she could not get up and then sprayed her with mace at least twice.

When a bystander shouted at him for assaulting a young girl, he shouted “you are under arrest” and then sprayed him with the mace too. On the way to the police station, in response to the verbal assault against him from the male prisoner, he stopped the police car and began striking the prisoner in his face.

A second case refers to events that occurred on 25 September 2007. Azoulay and another officer responded to a disturbance call in Cholon. Azoulay demanded that Mador Shalom present an identity card. During the event, Mador’s father appeared on the scene and Azoulay instructed him to leave, then spraying him with pepper spray. Azoulay’s partner and two others in the area were hit with the pepper spray. Some were treated in a local hospital. Azoulay placed Mador under arrest, also spraying him with pepper spray. When he fell to the ground, Azoulay kicked him in his face and elsewhere.

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(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)