Author: Merxhan Daci
Before the National Youth Day had dawned, Klodian Rasha was running through the alleys of the neighborhood where his parents were sleeping, with the hope that through this haste he was escaping the police. During the night, Klodiani refused the calls of two officers who suspected that the young man was acting suspiciously and had violated the Normative Act on the prohibition of movement after 22:00 pm due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Within a few minutes, this pursuit ended with the killing of the young man, who fell down at the entrance to the alley of the house with a bullet in his back. In a few minutes he passed away at the feet of the police who gave and received on the radio and his every movement was filmed by a security camera, installed in the garage that turned into a cold witness to the murder of December 8. The same irrefutable evidence among others that were subjected to judicial review a year after this crime, and that in this one year anniversary of Klodian Rasha's murder, finds the police in the most important test ever carried out, namely that of drugs, but also in the questions that opened the discussion, on the police reaction. "It is certain that at first the information that contradicted each other brought data that the young policeman on duty could have been under the influence of drugs, but this was not confirmed by the analysis - says an official at the Ministry of the Interior who deals with the administrative investigation of the effectives. But nevertheless, this event brought the first inspection to the actions of the "Eagle" police, and after many discussions for months in the corridors, this thing was discussed based on open sources such as the media that talked about officers who used drugs. And this is where the idea for control started," the official closes the story on the condition of anonymity.
The investigation files examined in the criminal court of Tirana exposed the accused Nevaldo Hajdaraj, a policeman with a short career who shot the young man with the service weapon with two bullets. The mortal was the one who grabbed Clodian by the shoulder and cut out his heart. The report was that the 25-year-old died in the trauma hospital, but the truth is that the young man had his last minutes of life counted there in the alley of the Laprak area, where he fell to the ground without any hope of breathing any further. His killer, an operative of the "Eagle" forces, although he appeared remorseful, and although he apologized, he won a reduced sentence not for this reason, but from the application of the summary trial. Nevaldo Hajdaraj was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison, and in the application of a reduction of one third of the sentence, the first instance sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Currently, the case is in Appeal, as Hajdaraj has requested the change of the decision and the punishment for murder in excess of the need to defend, but not intentional murder.
The dynamics of the event, the investigation and the trial that followed
For 12 years, LK, who has a shop near the scene, had installed security cameras to protect his business. In his testimony, he says that since the time when the security cameras were installed, he has never seen footage recorded by the cameras as he has not needed to. These cameras captured the murder of young Klodian Rasha that morning.
In the event file, data is provided indicating that the entire event took place in about 9 minutes.
Below is a chronology of the event with the most important moments from after the gun was fired at the deceased Rasha until the ambulance left for the hospital, according to the minutes of the camera that captured the event:
At 02:02:57 to 02:03:08, the young man Rasha was found running towards the alley. While running he jumps up, and touches his right side with his left hand. Klodian stops running a few meters into the alley, bends with folded arms, clutching his right side, and approaches the wall.
At 02:03.08 minutes to 02:03.25 minutes, police officer Nevaldo Hajdaraj enters the alley and approaches Klodiani, who is meanwhile sitting on the ground.
At 02:03:25 to 02:03:38, it was established that Hajdaraj exits the entrance of the alley, then turns and approaches Klodian again.
At 02:03:30, Hajdaraj comes from the highway, on foot, walking parallel to the sidewalk in the direction of the place where the camera is positioned.
At 02:03:58 minutes to 02:04:08 minutes, at the entrance to the alley, an officer in police uniform appears, who approaches the police officer Hajdaraj, as well as the young man Rasha, lying on his right side.
At 02:04:59 minutes, several officers in police uniforms, as well as Police vehicles, parked on the main street, appear, entering the alley, where they approach the police officers and Klodian.
At 02:09:04 minutes, it was established that the ambulance arrived.
At 02:09:11 minutes to 02:10:38 minutes, the ambulance entered the alley, took Klodian and left the scene.
The ambulance turns out to have arrived in six minutes. However, this did not change the fate of the deceased Rasha, who was declared to have died only a little later in the hospital.
The cop who doesn't act
In the footage of the security camera, the former officer Hajdaraj can be seen who, after seeing Klodiani seriously injured, does not act to give him first aid.
Professor of Criminology at the Faculty of Law, Ervin Karamuço doubts that the weapon that was found at the scene, which was initially reported as belonging to the deceased Rasha, was staged to get the police officer out "red handed".
"They threw a gun at him, they staged it, they threw it in the pool of water, so that even if the weapon was found, it would be addressed to the victim but no traces would be found. The policeman's alibi, aided by his comrades, and this criminalizes the entire police segment that followed that case, and that case was not investigated, it was even covered up rather than investigated. Protests should have erupted for such a quick trial, for an apology, etc. If the big and small had not stood up, the police would be called innocent, and the second security camera wanted to disappear with the whole server. These are the things that make you lose faith in the Police." he told Signal.
How trained is the Albanian Police?
On December 1, the testing for the selection of 500 new employees of the State Police, to be admitted to the Security Academy for General Patrol, was opened in the premises of the Palace of Congresses. Those who are declared winners in this phase, continue the competition with physical and psychological testing.
According to VKM no. 185, dated February 25, 2015, the Security Academy is the only responsible institution of higher public police education, whose mission is the formation, specialization, and qualification of employees of State Police structures, as well as the provision of specializations and qualifications for institutions other law enforcement.
Ilirjan Mandro, Professor of Criminalistics at the Security Academy explains to "Sinjalizo" that police officers are trained during basic school and at the Security Academy to manage first aid situations from the lightest to the most severe, for example giving assistant in the birth process in unexpected conditions. The same, according to him, also applies to the protocol for the use of weapons that the operatives are constantly trained during the academy.
Further, Skender Kalemi, director of the Police College at the Security Academy, told "Sinjalizo" that the training and teaching curricula at the Academy are rigorous and up-to-date.
"The academic year at the Academy consists of six months of theory and three months of practice. Study curricula are updated annually by 20 to 30 percent. For more updates, decisions are made by the Ministry of Education. International best practices and manuals are adopted. Emergency care is given special importance at the Academy. There is a special department for this", he said.
A "Sinjalizo" source within the "Eagles" said that the training these forces receive is at the Academy.
""Eagle" forces are a structure of the General Patrol. They don't do additional training except training at the academy for 9 months, which includes the legal basis, the use of weapons, the first aid course, etc."
The protocol for cases similar to that of young Rasha, according to the unofficial source within the "Eagle" forces, is clear.
"The protocol when a person is injured is that, the operating room is notified, an ambulance is requested and assistance is provided as quickly as possible. They are in the subject "General Policing". In cases like Clodian's, there isn't much to be done. Notification of the operating theater and ambulance, and at most, any wound dressings. It was the policeman's fault, he added. You are not allowed to shoot when the person is running away with his back turned. It is not in proportion nor is it a direct attack", says the source of "Signalizo".
Policia and Shtetit, in an official response to "Sinjalizo" insists that all employees of the State Police have adequate knowledge about the use of firearms.
"In the program of the Professional Police Training College, every police officer who has graduated from this College has had 105 hours of training only on firearms. Every year, all employees of the State Police, in particular the enforcement level structures, conduct various trainings according to the Mandatory Training Program in the Service, where one module is only knowledge, use of firearms, and shooting with firearms".
By Ervin Karamuço, the Professor of Criminology told "Sinjalizo" that the State Police has many unqualified employees to carry out the duty defined by the law in the protection of citizens.
"We have untrained police officers who do not know the basic rules of using firearms. Even if the person had a gun, he is not shot from behind. It's unfortunate that we have a young man who has put his shoulders to the ground, we have a policeman inside the jail and we still have an unregulated legal system of how to act in these cases, we have standard procedures that the police officers shrug off, that they learn them in school and forget to apply them", He said.
Karamuço added that the State Police and Police employees must always act according to the approved manuals and protocols to be implemented as the case may be.
"American policemen say "by book", that is, by order, by law, by manual, they should put it in the jargon. We are a state of law and we must follow the rules and norms, we cannot ignore the laws and rules and blow the policemen on the street and make them arrogant, they say I am the law, he implements the law, the law is the sovereign. It says little control and increases arrogance", said Karamuço.
Among other things, he added that we have policemen with many other psychological and social problems, that is, are they sober, capable, without trauma, to perform their duty, but according to him, they are not checked at all in what psychological state they are in. emotional they are when they perform the task. According to Karamuço, 2-3 psychologists are needed for the police stations to test and support them psychologically, also referring to the social problems that every policeman has, "because it normally affects their daily work", insists Karamuço.
Drug testing in the State Police, a coincidence?
Ervin Karamuço, The Professor of Criminology adds that in principle the agreement on metabolic analyzes of policemen for drugs should be welcomed, as he insists that the problem is present and disturbing.
"Many people do not understand this, because the person who killed him (Klodiani) was a suspected drug user. We have a very big problem. We have the law on the use of firearms in which all documents are required, but only metabolic tests for drugs are not. Even in the "Eagles" group and the State Police there are personnel who are regular drug users. There is constant information about drug use. These people should go away themselves, because they are taking an entire people by the neck, either by using weapons, violence, etc."
The anti-drug control was made official by Chief Constable Nano. "The officers of the State Police will be subject to periodic drug tests" announced Gladis Nano, confirming that she had signed a cooperation agreement with the private medical laboratory "Intermedica Center", based in Tirana.
The General Director of the State Police Gladis Nano considered this practice as an opportunity to increase the image of the Police in the community and to gain the trust of the citizens, "because the periodic test for the use of narcotics will eliminate the charges and according to him , malice towards the State Police" - argued the highest official of the State Police.
The cooperation agreement consists in creating opportunities for the periodic medical examination of State Police employees, within the framework of increasing standards and personal integrity, in order to stop the use of narcotics by them. So the controls have started and the unconfirmed data in the official way, speak of results that expose police officers, who have been confirmed positive (drug users).
What does the European Convention on Human Rights and Policing say about similar cases?
Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to life.
It includes three main requirements, firstly, the prohibition of unlawful killing by state officials or agents, secondly, it imposes the obligation to effectively investigate suspicious deaths and thirdly, the positive obligation, in certain circumstances, to take preventive steps of avoidable loss of life.
In relation to the use of lethal force, Article 2 of the European Convention requires the application of a strict test, which requires that the force that the State has exercised against the individual must not exceed what is 'absolutely necessary'.
Otherwise known as the “strict” proportionality test, the test requires that the force be proportionate to the achievement of one of the aims set out in Article 2 of the ECHR (to protect any person from unlawful violence, to commit a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a lawfully detained person, etc.).
The Council of Europe's guide for police officers on the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights highlights that it is important to understand that the role of the police is not to punish or sanction wrongdoing or law breakers. Police officers, in the course of their duties, may come across individuals who have been involved in the most reprehensible behaviors.
However, the role of the police is to investigate and bring suspects before the responsible justice authorities. If the police attempt to punish suspected offenders through the use of force, the foundation of the rule of law is undermined.
