Riot police “did not go too far” in Atocha, says Interior Ministry
Inquiry into charge after Congress protest concludes that minimum force was used
The internal inquiry into alleged abuses by riot police inside Madrid's Atocha station in the aftermath of anti-austerity protests around Congress on September 25 has concluded that agents did not overstep the mark in their actions.
Images showing around 30 officers from the National Police's UIP riot squad firing blanks, running along the platforms and striking people in the station caused outrage in the media and on social networks. One young bystander was seen with a bleeding face, complaining he had been hit for no reason.
Now the internal police investigation opened into the incident says agents made use of "indispensable minimum force" to repel the attacks from protestors to which they had been subjected and no officer warranted punishment, according to information uncovered by the SER radio network and confirmed by police. The inquiry was closed on December 3 with the Interior Ministry detecting no irregularities.