A local police of Saint Ursula will sit next week in the dock of the accused Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife when the Prosecutor considers that he is responsible for an alleged crime of discrimination for reasons of race. The Public Ministry requests two years in prison, the payment of nearly 4,000 euros and that the defendant cannot work as a police officer for four years.
The agent, who has an expunged criminal record, was off duty in a bar in this town in the north of Tenerife when a man born in Mali arrived, who was doing his usual work as a street vendor. At that moment, the accused, in an intimidating manner, began to humiliate him because of the color of his skin and attacked his dignity by taking advantage of his status as a local police officer. The agent told him that if he saw him again “I’ll take away your merchandise, you’re not going to sell any more, you black bastard…” and then he proceeded to snatch his mobile phone from him and crushed it against the bar counter. He then insulted and frightened him again, saying that he was going to expel him from the country and fine him 3,000 euros, while demanding that he provide his personal documentation, despite not being on duty.
When setting the compensation, the bill for the mobile screen valued at 69 euros, a fine of 1,600 and another 2,000 for moral damages are taken into account.
