Israeli Policeman Indicted On Two Charges Of Assault For Hitting 12-Year-Old Chareidi Boy

JERUSALEM (VINnews) —The Israeli State Attorney’s department for internal investigations submitted an indictment against the commander of the Lev Habirah police station, Dep. Com. Shimon Marciano, on two charges of assault.

The charges refer to a large Chareidi demonstration which took place in Jerusalem on 4/10/20 during the Sukkos holiday. Marciano was patrolling at the time and working to prevent public disorder.

At a certain point demonstrators started burning garbage cans, throwing stones at police and cursing them. At a certain point the accused started running towards a group of demonstrators on Shivtei Yisrael street who had allegedly thrown stones at police forces. A 12-year-old boy standing there began to run away like the other demonstrators. The accused caught the boy, threw him towards a brick wall nearby, causing him to fall over. While the boy was on the ground, screaming that “I didn’t do anything”, and not actively opposing detainment, Marciano hit him in the face without reason or justification.

When Marciano saw that a demonstrator was holding a cellphone and snapping the attack, he held him by the neck and pushed him onto the ground towards some nearby bushes.

אחרי התיעוד הזה מח"ש הגישה הבוקר לבית משפט השלום בירושלים כתב אישום נגד מפקד תחנת "לב הבירה", נצ"מ שמעון מרציאנו, המייחס לו שתי עבירות של תקיפה https://t.co/Un3rknxM6g

— חיים גולדברג (@haim_goldberg) December 31, 2020

Marciano was charged with attacking the photographer and demonstrator. Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, representing the minor, said that “the indictment against the station commander is an important step but is not enough. Over the past year the internal investigations received thousands of pictures and hundreds of clips documenting police violence but statistics show that one can count on the fingers of one hand the number of indictments issued. The internal investigations department has become a department covering up for police brutality and “throwing a few crumbs” in order to fend off the harsh criticism it deserves.”

The attorney representing the policeman responded that “in the circumstances of public disturbances with stones and glass shards being thrown at policemen, we can only be sorry that such an indictment was issued.”

Yosef Simchi, the 12-year-old boy attacked by the police commander, said that “I was walking in the street and reached Meah Shearim. I didn’t know what was going on, I thought it was a crowd gathering due to the festival. I was on my way home. Suddenly everyone started running, I didn’t understand what was happening, so I started to flee like everyone else.

“He ran after me, I didn’t know what he wanted from me, I ran to the sidewalk, he shoved me with both hands onto the wall, my head and shoulder hit the wall and then he hit me in the face. I don’t know why he did this.

“Then he told one of the policemen to take me to the police car. The policeman asked me who I am and how old I am and I answered. They put me in the car and after a minute other police came and took me out. A policeman told me: ‘Just leave.’

“I don’t know the policeman who pushed me but I want to ask him: “Why did you do this?Why? It’s the first time I was at a demonstration. It wasn’t nice for me, it hurts me until now in the shoulder and the head, he slapped me hard.”