Photo: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, commented on the actions of the patrol officers who left a child during a shooting incident in Kyiv.
According to him, within a few minutes after the incident, other police units arrived at the scene and immediately moved the boy to a safer location.
During a meeting with journalists, Klymenko said that the two patrol officers who were nearby during the shooting in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv and left the injured child without assistance should at least have taken a defensive position, prepared their weapons for use, and attempted to stop the attacker by available means. At the same time, he stressed that it is wrong to judge the entire police system based on the actions of these two officers, according to Ukrinform.
“What they did at that moment is a great shame. Two adult people who swore to protect left a boy on the asphalt and ran away,” Klymenko said.
He reported that within minutes after the incident, other police units arrived and immediately moved the boy to a safer place, and another patrol placed the child into a service vehicle. He also noted that KORD special police units acted quickly and professionally, and that such operations are not new for him.
“I want to say one thing: you cannot judge the entire system based on two patrol officers. In that moment, these two people showed psychological weakness,” the minister emphasized.
Klymenko also said that one of the patrol officers, a 44-year-old woman, passed the competitive selection process for the Patrol Police Department in 2015 during the first recruitment wave and later worked in the headquarters of the unit. He noted that this cannot be considered an excuse, since over ten years personnel could have been trained to respond properly in complex situations, and leadership should have better prepared officers for extreme conditions.
He also explained that staff shortages are related to the fact that part of the personnel is currently serving in the war, and in Kyiv the understaffing level exceeds 20%, which is why even headquarters employees were deployed for duty shifts on weekends.
The minister also reported that the other patrol officer is currently 27 years old. He clarified that when the officer began service at the age of 25, the mobilization age was 27. He added that the man graduated from the Police Academy and began service at the start of 2024.
On Saturday in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, a man opened fire on people in the street. After shooting at passers-by, he barricaded himself inside a shop, took hostages, and fired at law enforcement officers. He was later eliminated by KORD special forces. As a result of the shooting, 14 people were injured and seven were killed.
After the attack, it became known that two police officers had left the scene and abandoned a child in danger. A criminal investigation has been launched into their actions.
