The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) ratified the sentence which acquitted three National Police agents tried for having shot and killed a 21-year-old young man on November 26, 2021 on the landing of his house in Vallecas. This is indicated by a judgment, to which Europa Press had access, in which the magistrates rejected the appeal filed against the April 2024 resolution exonerating the agents.
The acquittal took place after the popular jury that tried the facts understood that there was a complete defense of self-defense which exempted them from any criminal responsibility. In its legal argument, the Chamber specifies that “it can only, in the context of its legal action, conclude that the motivation of the contested sentence excludes from the root any shadow of arbitrariness or unreason which could undermine the right to effective judicial protection of the appellants”. “accusations.
The events judged occurred on the afternoon of November 26, 2021 in less than a minute when the officers took the elevator to the ninth floor of the building. In a space of one meter, they were surprised by the violent attack of the victim, who attacked them without saying a word with a knife.
The accused fired approximately 19 shots during the police intervention. The young man died from hypovolemic shock following four impacts to the abdomen.
Only one of the agents used his right of last word, reiterating that he and his companions had acted to defend their lives and that of their companions. “Kevyn left us no option,” he stressed in court. The family requested a five-year prison sentence for incomplete defense, considering that they must have some responsibility for what happened.
In their statement of claim, the defendants argued that they acted in self-defense against a fatal attack, which would absolve them of criminal liability in the event that the jury court fully appreciates this defense.
The events occurred around nine o’clock in the evening, when the agents showed up at the victim’s home, located in Puente de Vallecas, when they were requested following a call from the mother. Upon entering the house, the young man lunged at them, according to the police report. There were no more witnesses. The three police officers shot the young man 19 times, hitting his body six times. A forensic report attached to the file establishes that the young man died due to the accumulation of gunshots which hit him and caused hypovolemic shock.
