Man accuses police director in ‘dignity’ incident

A taxi employee in Limassol is accusing the local police director and other officers of roughing him up during arrest, following a parking incident that was escalated outside the cab service.

According to local media, a man working at a taxi service in Limassol had an altercation with a local police director, who reportedly parked his car outside the business for a quick rapid test next door and was told by the complainant that he was blocking the entrance.

In a post on social media, the taxi worker wrote that after telling the police director that his car was blocking the parking area as well as the entrance to the building, the man in uniform told him off.

“Do you know who I am?” the officer said according to the post.

The man claimed the police director was agitated and further tried to attack him when bystanders intervene.

“I told people to leave him alone if he wanted to [attack] and it was laughable as he was half my size, but he thought his uniform gave him superpowers,” the man wrote.

Ten minutes later and after bystanders had left according to the man’s account, the police director returned from a rapid test.

“He dared me if I was a tough guy and had the balls to call him ‘re’ one more time,” the employee said.

In Greek Cypriot, calling someone “re” can be a term of endearment if used between friends but could also be an insult or sign of disrespect if it is used to address a male stranger in a certain way.

“Yes, I’m a tough guy,” the man responded, adding it was at that time that the director picked up the phone and called for backup.

The director has vehemently denied the allegations, saying he would never act inappropriately towards another citizen. According to local media, the officer also dismissed the claim that his parked vehicle was blocking access to the cab service.

But the complainant says he was handcuffed by officers after three patrol cars rushed to his location, while further claiming they were pushing him and beating him despite telling them had had a recent surgery.

“He came at me from behind and hit me twice in the lower back, telling me now your back hurts re tough little guy?” he wrote.

The complainant, who reported the incident to police, also alleged that he was not allowed to call for a lawyer and was never told on what charges had had been arrested.

“If these were different times, I would fuck you up, you would never get out of here alive,” the director said according to the taxi employee’s post.

An internal probe has been ordered in the case while the man says he was being accused of shouting and pushing the director, something he says he would never dare citing his clean record.