Ethiopian-Israeli teen killed by cop had alcohol, drugs in blood - autopsy
In light of these findings which indicate that Tekah was under the influence, sources said that they believe that the officer's claim that he felt like he was in danger can be given greater weight.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA protester confronts a policeman during a demonstration in Tel Aviv on July 2 over the shooting death of 19-year-old Ethiopian- Israeli Solomon Tekah(photo credit: CORINNA KERN/REUTERS)
19-year-old Solomon Tekah, the Ethiopian-Israeli teen killed by an Israeli policeman on June 30, had a very high blood alcohol content and residual drugs in his body, according to the autopsy carried out by investigators from the Police Investigation Department, Maariv reported.The autopsy was done in the institute for forensic medicine in Abu Kabir, according to sources familiar with the details. The autopsy also found that the bullet that hit Tekah's heart ricocheted from the ground and was not shot directly at him, which confirmed the police officer's version of the incident.In light of these findings which indicate that Tekah was under the influence, the sources said that they believe that the officer's claim that he felt like he was in danger can be given greater weight, according to Maariv.PID attorneys along with the state prosecutor will still need to examine the officer's version parallel to the testimony and evidence that were collected in order to determine if officer's version of the incident is reliable and if he still needed to use a weapon."As we feared, the irregular behavior of the enforcement authorities, and the incompetence in handling the ugly and distorted leaks about Solomon's criminal past, alongside ongoing leaks from the enforcement agencies regarding the reduced responsibility attributed to the officer that shot him, has led to a breach of the dam and the inevitable contamination of the investigation," responded the Tekah family, according to Maariv.Yesterday, the Tekah family was told by the PID that the police officer was put on forced leave for thirty days. This came after the court in Haifa rejected the request to forbid the officer from entering all police stations throughout the country, and forbade him only from entering the Zevulun police station that he served at."Yesterday, my client was informed by the deputy head of the Police Discipline Division of the decision to place him on forced leave for thirty days," said the officer's attorney. "In view of the events that took place following the death of the late Solomon Tekah, we were not surprised by the decision. However, my client believes that he should be returned to his work as soon as possible. The court's ruling supports the wishes of my client, since it was determined that he was not a dangerous person and that there was no fear of obstructing the course of an investigation or trial.""From the day of the tragic event, many people were particular to 'jump' on the back of my client like great loot," added the attorney, according to Maariv. "Citizens, politicians and public officials rushed to sentence him and publicize it to the masses. The fact that the evidence collected by the PID in order to get to the truth has not yet been revealed does not change anything to those people, since the truth is of no concern to them at all. These are irresponsible and dishonest people who cause serious harm to my client and his family, and [they do] all this while attempting to influence the decision-makers to 'settle a score' with my client."
