The Madrid public prosecutor’s office is seeking the conviction for homicide for slight recklessness of the civil guard who shot a paranoid schizophrenic patient twice in the legs while he tried to stab him for the second time. The attacker attacked the guards armed with two knives small and screaming “I’m going to kill you, I’m going to die killing police officers”. The first time, the guards fired into the air to warn the attacker, but during the second attempt to stab them, the now-accused guard shot him in the legs and the attacker he bled to death at the hospital. The trial will begin tomorrow, Tuesday October 8.
The events date back to 3:26 a.m. on September 27, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, when the accused guard was ordered to go to the town hall square in the Madrid city of Manzanares El Real in the presence of a subject with two knives who nervously walked down the street uttering threats. When the guards arrived, they found Diego, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and without medication, who addressed them aggressively, shouting “son of a bitch, get out of here, I’m going to kill you.” Given the subject’s aggressiveness and the two 6.5 cm long knives he was carrying, the guards got back into the patrol car and requested backup and medical attention for the subject.
Shortly after, twelve officers were already surrounding the subject to prevent him from fleeing and trying to reason with him, even though the patient continued armed and shouted expressions like “I’m going to kill you, I’m going to die killing police officers”while advancing towards the officers with their knives raised. After 30 minutes and when the patient refused, the manager tried to approach him and the patient tried to stab him and, after failing, ran away.
After running about 30 meters, Diego reached a nearby square and turned on the guard who was pursuing him more closely, trying to stab him several times. The guard dodged it “and fired three deterrent shots into the air from his service weapon.” Far from calming down, the patient tried again to stab another guard, who in turn fired into the air to try to stop him.
On the contrary, Diego became even more nervous and “when he found himself 1.60 meters from a third guard, he lunged at him with his knives raised, and the guard fired two shots “in a row which hit Diego in the legs”.
Emergency teams immediately transported the injured man to La Paz Hospital in Madrid where they underwent an emergency operation which could not prevent his death due to massive hemorrhage from one of the arteries affected by the gunshots.
The public prosecutor’s office now accuses the guard of minor reckless homicide and demands a fine of 3,600 euros for the officer. In addition, under civil liability, the prosecutor’s office demands a fine from the accused and the State (as subsidiary civil liability). compensation of 182,725 euros for the relatives of the deceased. The trial will begin tomorrow, Tuesday at Madrid Provincial Court.
