Police officers turn off their body cams when approaching or arresting minors, N12 police affairs correspondent Moshe Nussbaum said Tuesday afternoon, citing a response from law enforcement.
"There is no body cam footage from this incident, as [the suspect] is a minor," Israel Police told Nussbaum regarding a viral video of a 13-year-old Ultra-Orthodox Haredi girl being detained over wearing a face mask incorrectly.
"In such cases, the officer turns off the recording," the comment reportedly read.
13-year-old Bessy Getter was wearing a face mask while pushing a stroller down the street, taking it "off for a few minutes because she was drinking a slushie," the girl's father told N12. The girl herself told the media outlet she was told by police she would be taken to the station in response to her pleading she was wearing the mask.
"In full contrast to what has been reported, the officers noticed [the] 13.5-year-old girl on the street not wearing a face mask in violation of the emergency regulations, but did not hand her a fine," police said in a statement to the press Monday afternoon after the video showing the girl's detainment went viral.
"The officers asked her to put on a mask and let her go," Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit added. "This is yet another false, distorted report, and is part of a recent campaign against police and officers who protect public health."
Israel Police's broad enforcement of the emergency regulations came under heavy criticism over the last several weeks amid growing claims of police brutality.
On Monday, Public Security Minister Amir Ohana requested Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit allow the release of body cam footage from the alleged cases of violence without the materials being considered a disruption of the ongiong investigations of the cases, N12 reported.
Ohana's request came following a video of a violent arrest of a 24-year-old in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, over the weekend. The video shows the man being approached by two uniformed officers for not wearing a mask. The man was tased and beaten by the officers while on the ground, requiring medical care following his arrest.
Last Wednesday, video of the arrest of an autistic teenager caused outrage on social media. Shot in the southern city of Dimona, the video showed the special-needs 17-year-old being violently subdued by law enforcement.
"The kid is broken. It is disgraceful," the boy's father told N12. "They broke two of his teeth, they broke his face, he is completely covered in blood," he added. "If police behave in such a way, they are a gang" rather than law enforcement.
"What is the problem with giving him a NIS 500 ($145.5) fine? Why would you beat him? They say he refused to identify, but the police officer is a neighbor who lives nearby," he continued.
"The kid is in special education and has special needs and slow development. He did not even know what they want from him and why they are beating him," he said. "It is disturbing and horrible."
Police responded to the video, saying a "preliminary examination concluded that the officers first gave a warning. A short time afterwards, they saw the teen and his friend once again without face masks."
According to police, "the 17-year-old refused to identify himself, after which the officers informed him he was being delayed. After he continued resisting and refusing to identify, they were forced to arrest him."
Also last Wednesday, the Knesset rejected a motion by MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) to inquire recent cases of alleged police brutality against citizens.
The motion was submitted by Zandberg following the controversial arrest of retired IAF officer Brig.-Gen. Amir Haskel at a protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residency in Jerusalem.
"The duty of police is to maintain public order and protect the public from crime. [Israel] Police's brutal conduct toward innocent civilians and the disproportionate use of power have become an ordinary thing," Zandberg said in her motion.
"Citizens need to be certain that disproportionate violence is not used and that police work for them and not against them," Zandberg added.
The motion was to be voted upon on the one-year anniversary Ethiopian-Israeli Solomon Tekah's killing by police and the death of special-needs Palestinian Iyad al-Hallak shot by Border Police a month prior in the Old City of Jerusalem.