Pitched battle in Madrid leaves 14 police officers injured

Six people of Dominican origin were arrested on Saturday night in Madrid’s Tetuán neighborhood after a brawl between police and local residents left 14 officers – some of them off duty – injured, according to sources working on the investigation.

Without saying a word, the man “smashed a glass and bottle on the officer’s head”

The events started after one of the off-duty officers had finished eating with four other colleagues nearby. As he approached his car, he saw a man leaning against it with several drinks spread out on the hood. The police official asked him to get off his vehicle but, without saying a word, the man then “smashed a glass and bottle on the officer’s head,” according to Alfredo Perdiguero, a spokesman for the Independent Labor Union of the Spanish Police (SIPE).

The injured police officer called for help from his colleagues, who approached to see what was going on. At that moment, “numerous residents started to come out with bats and clubs,” said Perdiguero, and proceeded to attack the five officers, who had to call for backup.

A few minutes later, several police cars arrived on the scene to separate the two sides. One of the police officers managed to hold down one of the assailants. At that moment, the attacker delivered a punch to his face, as well as a heavy blow to the face of another officer.

Another attacker also punched and kicked police while trying to evade arrest.

The officers said a group of individuals rebuked and insulted them in order to hinder the detentions. One woman even went so far as to throw a tricycle in one of the police officer’s faces, causing him serious injury, according to sources in the case.

The detainees then started to fight back once again, resulting in one officer suffering a dislocated shoulder and another receiving a punch. One aggressor threw a bottle at the officers and another took out a baseball bat before the police were able to regain control.

Madrid City Hall closed down one of its police riot units 15 days ago – a fact to which the CSIT Professional Union alluded when talking about the incident: “In circumstances such as these, we see that it is necessary to have a specialized unit like the Central Security Units (UCS) as they are already prepared to protect us from these kinds of situations.”

English version by Anne-Gaelle Sy.