Man killed by police in İstanbul after allegedly disobeying 'stop' warning

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Police shot a man dead in Kadıköy, İstanbul, on late Monday (November 29) after he allegedly disobeyed a warning to stop.

The incident happened during a road check on Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Street in Göztepe neighborhood, the İstanbul Governor's Office said in a statement today (December 1).

Police chased and cut off a car that did not obey their warning to stop, according to the statement. A passenger in the car, identified by initials E.Ç. (15), escaped on foot while Çetin Kaya, the driver, resisted police officers, it said.

"At that moment, [Kaya] was shot and killed at the scene as a result of the weapon in the police officer's hand going off," the statement reads.

Police later nabbed E.Ç. and found 15 packs of drugs on him, according to the governor's office. Officers also found two packs of drugs and a transmitter in the car, it said.

A public prosecutor's office is investigating the incident and the relevant police officer has been suspended from duty, said the governor's office.

The officer has been arrested, the attorney of Kaya's family told Evrensel newspaper.

"Extrajudicial killing" allegations

A report by the Etkin News Agency (ETHA) claimed that police officers got Kaya on the ground and shot him in the neck after handcuffing him behind his back.

Submitting a parliamentary question about the incident, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu asked Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu about the claims.

He also asked whether witness statements that the police did not fire a warning shot were true.

Pointing out that there were many surveillance cameras on Fahrettin Kerim Gökay street, the MP asked about the claims that the cameras were disabled.

"No warning shots"

The attorney of Kaya's family told Evrensel newspaper that police officers had not fired warning shots before killing him with a single shot.

There were no known investigations against Kaya, according to the attorney.

Friends of Kaya, who was working in the cinema sector, confirmed that he had been shot in the neck. They also claimed that they had not been shown the security camera footage of the incident because the cameras were "disabled."

Kaya's funeral took place yesterday.

Impunity and laws

According to the Progressive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD), the police shot some 403 people dead for disobeying "stop" warnings between 2007 and 2020.

In 2020 alone, 15 people, including three children, were killed and 13 were wounded by security forces, according to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV/HRFT).

Rights advocates point out impunity, which they say encourages police officers to open fire on people. 

The Law of Police Powers allows police officers to use weapons against resisting people who cannot be neutralized by body power and who continue to run away despite a "stop" warning. (KÖ/VK)