A 48-year-old man wielding a meat tenderizer, an axe, a crowbar and a pipe was shot in the leg by police on Monday, according to reports out of Gorzow Wielkopolski, a city in western Poland.
Police were called around 7 a.m, when the man, whose name has not been released, allegedly began smashing car windows and storefronts with a meat tenderizer and an axe, police spokesperson Sławomir Konieczny said. The man had been receiving some form of psychiatric care, although the details of that care are unknown, according to Polish Newsweek.
In the chilling video above, which was originally taken down before a copy was uploaded by a different user, the man appears to taunt police -- who had their guns drawn -- and even throws one of the aforementioned objects before fleeing. Polish Newsweek reported that Internet users have raised questions about the conduct of the police, many objecting to the fact that officers opened fire in a residential neighborhood and did not help the man immediately after he was shot.
Crime experts in the United States have been equally baffled by the police conduct, but not for the same reasons.
"Exactly where do you think your life was in danger if a guy is carrying a stick and you've got a gun?" Harold Copus, a former FBI agent, told The Huffington Post. "I have no earthly idea how they train police officers outside the United States, but there is absolutely no justification in the U.S. to shoot him."
Copus did not profess to be an expert on foreign police tactics, but did offer a look at these officers through the lens of U.S. standards. He added that the key moment in the video is when the alleged criminal is shot with his back turned to the police.
"That wasn't even acceptable in the old West here in the United States," he said. "I can't tell you where this town is but I can assure you I don't want to go there."
The event occurred on Mieszko 1st St., where the man's interaction with police was filmed by a local resident. Gazeta Lubuska, the local newspaper, has reported that the man lived on the street where he was shot.
Neighbors told Na Temat the man was a calm person but had been having personal problems for some time.
Konieczny said a police technician and prosecutor were working on the scene to determine what happened. He added that the man damaged approximately 10 cars including the police officers' vehicle, which he allegedly smashed with the axe. Konieczny didn't comment on the video above to Na Temat and it is not known if he has seen it.
After being apprehended, the man was taken to Gorzow hospital where he was tested for drugs and alcohol. He reportedly asked to contact his mother. Results of the tests have not been released, according to Na Temat.
Translating assistance provided by Sylvia Nasiadko.
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