On Sunday evening, a border guard in the eastern Estonian town of Mustvee used their service weapon against a man who disobeyed orders and charged at them with knives, resulting in the man being taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
At around 9:35 p.m. on Sunday, border guards were alerted to a fire in the town of Mustvee, where a bonfire and a burning bicycle were reported. Upon arrival, they encountered a man holding knives who refused to comply with the officers’ orders and initially fled. After catching up with him, an officer instructed the man to drop the knives, but he did not comply and instead began charging toward the border guard. According to the information gathered so far, the border guard warned the man about the use of a firearm, but ultimately had to use their service weapon to stop the attack.
Paramedics arrived at the scene and transported the man to hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening, and the border guard was not injured.
Künter Pedoski, operational manager at the Southern Prefecture, said that the man is known to the police from previous incidents.
“Unfortunately, yesterday’s events took such an unexpected turn that the officers had to use their service weapon for self-defense. Since the man did not comply with the orders to drop the knives and started running toward the officer, the officer had to use the service weapon to neutralize the attacker. The use of a firearm is always the last resort for police officers in confronting a threat, and it is never done lightly,” Pedoski said.
The police have initiated a criminal investigation against the man under the Penal Code section dealing with violence against a law enforcement officer. The Internal Control Bureau of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) reviewed the officers’ actions and, in their initial assessment, deemed the use of the firearm justified and lawful.
Source: BNS
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