The high-speed chase of a motorcyclist in the centre of Nicosia on Tuesday sparked reactions by citizens and the motorcyclist’s family who was seriously injured.
The motorcyclist’s mother who lives in Britain and is due to arrive in Cyprus, while talking to ANTI1 TV, questioned why police had to chase her son and did not wait to arrest him after he would go home.
In response, police on Thursday clarified that, according to protocol, its members can get involved in a chase, when it is deemed that the lives of others are in danger as a result of the reckless driving.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when after receiving complaints about disturbing noise at Athalassa Avenue, members of the police spotted a person speeding with a motorcycle.
Officers signalled the driver to stop three times, but he ignored them and continued driving while committing several traffic offences. He even went through a pedestrian crossing at the time when students were crossing, endangering their lives.
After, police started chasing the man, who eventually managed to reach the Nicosia-Limassol highway, where under conditions that are being investigated, he collided with a preceding vehicle near the exit to Pera Chorio Nisou.
The motorcyclist was taken to the Nicosia General Hospital with multiple fractures. A small number of drugs were found in his possession.
According to Phileleftheros, police are only investigating the offences committed by the motorcyclist and not the conditions under which he was injured.
His mother told ANT1 TV that she wants to take him to England, but cannot do it, since he has been placed on the stop list after a court order was issued against him.
The man’s side could file a complaint with the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints against the Police, Phileleftheros writes.
