Bail posted for patrol officers suspected of negligence during Kyiv terror attack – prosecutors
Bail has been posted for the patrol police officers suspected of official negligence during the terror attack in Kyiv on April 18, the Kyiv prosecutor’s office told Interfax-Ukraine.
The court set the bail as an alternative to custody. Earlier, Pechersky District Court of Kyiv remanded two police officers in custody with the right to post bail in the amount of UAH 266,240 each. They are suspected of official negligence with grave consequences during a shooting in the Holosiyivsky district.
During a meeting with media representatives, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko called the behavior of the patrol officers, who left a wounded boy and fled during the April 18 events in Kyiv, a great shame. Klymenko noted that the officers could have at least taken positions and readied their weapons for combat.
He said that other crews arrived within minutes. "They immediately pulled the boy away; the next crew put him in the car right away. That is, everyone else acted professionally thereafter," Klymenko added.
The minister noted that KORD officers acted quickly and professionally.
"Negotiations lasted 40 minutes – he [the shooter] walked around the store, did not react; he was in an inadequate state. He was just shooting; he was no longer threatening, he was not talking to anyone. Just shooting point-blank," the minister said.
"I want to say one thing: the entire system cannot be judged by two patrol officers. At that specific moment, these two people showed psychological weakness," the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs concluded.
Speaking specifically about these officers, the minister explained that the 44-year-old female officer worked in the headquarters of the Patrol Police Department, but headquarters officers are also assigned to shifts on weekends. "This is no excuse – in 10 years one could have learned to react. More precisely, the leadership should have trained and prepared the entire staff for extreme situations," the minister added.
According to Klymenko, the second officer, a 27-year-old man, graduated from the Patrol Police Academy and began his service in early 2024. "At the time he joined at 25, the mobilization age was from 27 years," Klymenko clarified.
