Fleeing 22 year-old man killed by police
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Monday, October 6
Georgian Police officers killed 22 year-old Mirza Buachidze during a special operation in Kutaisi on October 3.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili called the incident unfortunate.
“I would like to send my condolences to the family of Buachidze. Both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office responded to this fact immediately. The police officer has been suspended from his duties following the incident. If the investigation determines that he was guilty, he will be punished in accordance with the law,” stated Gharibashvili.
According to the statement released by the Interior Ministry, Buachidze was suspected in robbery and was chased by the police officers.
“Buachidze resisted the police officers and he tried to hit the policemen using his car. One of the officers fired his gun, Buachidze was wounded followed by a car accident. He was taken to the hospital where he died a short time later,” reads the official statement of the Interior Ministry.
According to the Interior Ministry, a police officer is being questioned over the incident.
According to the neighbors of Buachidze, he was driving the car without a license and the only reason he tried to escape from the police officers was because he was worried about being fined.
“We knew this man well, he was a very good person and had no criminal record in the past or any kind of problems with police… all I know is that he borrowed the car from his friend that night. I am sure he had done nothing wrong, they killed the poor guy because of someone else’s crime,” said Buachidze’s neighbor.
An investigation is underway under Article 333 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which deals with the abuse of power by officials.
