Romania: local politician accused of firing at police during search held in custody
A PNL city councilor in Slatina is under investigation for attempted murder of a police officer. The search was part of a usury and blackmail probe.
Symbolic image · Photo: Andrei Stroe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
A city councilor from Slatina in southern Romania has been placed in pretrial detention for 30 days, the Olt County Court ruled on Tuesday evening, the newspaper Adevărul reported. According to prosecutors at the Olt County Court, the local politician from the National Liberal Party (PNL) fired at police officers and special forces with a hunting rifle during a search of his home last week.
No one was injured; investigators said a garage door and a car were damaged. The search was part of an investigation into usury and blackmail in which the councilor had already been placed under judicial control. Another suspect’s home was also searched in the same case, Digi24 reported.
The councilor is under investigation for attempted aggravated murder of a police officer, outrage against law enforcement officers, property destruction and illegal use of a firearm. He was detained on Monday evening. According to Adevărul, he did not admit the charges, saying he thought the people were thieves and only wanted to scare them off. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.