Greece rocked by scandal over autistic youth's death from police gunfire

The death of a 20-year-old autistic man, shot 20 times by police during a pursuit in southern Greece, has ignited public outrage and a scandal over alleged police misconduct. The young man, who had an 89% disability recognized by the Greek state, was reportedly shot in the head during the incident in Argos, Argolida region.

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The mission of the Police is to arrest murderers, not kill children.

Greece's Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, stated that the two officers involved "did not act correctly" and reacted disproportionately. The tragedy unfolded last Wednesday when the young man allegedly failed to obey a police signal at a checkpoint. A pursuit ensued, ending when the unarmed man, who posed no threat, exited his vehicle and attempted to scale a cement wall. Two officers then opened fire, hitting him severely.

He was initially taken to a hospital in Argos and later transferred to Athens for neurosurgery, but succumbed to his injuries on Saturday. The officers claimed they fired "to intimidate" and not to kill or injure, suggesting the victim might have been hit by a "stray bullet." However, a judge was unconvinced by these arguments and charged both officers with manslaughter, ordering their pre-trial detention.

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they fired to intimidate and they did not want to kill the young man, not even to injure him.

Maria Sfetsou, the family's lawyer, presented a brain MRI scan showing a bullet "intact" in the victim's skull, asserting the shot was direct. Ballistic analysis is underway to determine which weapon fired the shots. The opposition parties, New Left and Pasok, have called for Chrisochoidis's resignation and substantial changes in police operations and training, respectively. This incident follows the deaths of three other young individuals, aged 16 to 20, in separate police pursuits since 2021 where officers allegedly violated firearm regulations.

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the shot was direct