Footage of a confrontation between a police officer and a man in Dnipro, Ukraine went viral across social networks. The footage shows that the confrontation ensued after the police told the car to pull over and as a result the officer shot the man three times. Based on this footage, it was reported by some the Facebook users that the police stopped and killed the man for his refusal of mobilisation to fight in Ukraine.
This claim went viral by a number of different sources (links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
FactCheck verified this information.
Of note is that the video was also widely disseminated in Ukraine and sparked a response from the media. Publicly available evidence does not support the claim that the man was stopped in order to send him to the military or that the police officer's decision to shoot him resulted from the man's refusal to take part in the military mobilisation.
In fact, the incident took place on 29 August 2023 when the police stopped a Jaguar make car. The reason for asking the vehicle to stop was a violation of traffic rules. A man, Jumber Silagava, a woman and two children were in the car. The police asked the woman, who allegedly exchanged the seats with Mr Silagava after the police chase and took the driver's seat, to move out of the car. This was met with resistance from the woman after which the police took her out of the car by force. After that, the man also got out of the car which led to the start of a physical confrontation. According to reports, Mr Silagava knocked down a male police officer and beat a female police officer after which the police officer shot him three times and killed him on the spot. The female police officer suffered a broken nose in the altercation.
The fact that the vehicle was stopped due to a violation of traffic rules is also confirmed by the footage taken from the policemen's badge camera which was published by the Ukrainian Patrol Police Department. In addition to the violation of the traffic rules by the Jaguar car, the footage also shows the facts of the car being chased by the police and Jumber Silagava physically assaulting the policemen. RFE/RL's Ukrainian office also released an 8.5-minute long recording showing police officers explaining to the woman in the car - who was sitting the driver's seat - that the car had been stopped for a traffic violation.
Additionally, surveillance camera footage has also been released showing a Jaguar car breaking traffic rules in the vicinity of a police car. According to surveillance camera records, a man was driving the car while violating traffic rules.
Based on the information of Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian office, 12 traffic tickets were given to Jumber Silagava for various traffic violations between 2018 and 2022, including speeding and driving without a driver's license.
Shortly after the incident, media reported that Mr Silagava was driving under the influence of alcohol, although the information has not been officially confirmed.
The probe in regard to the legality of the use of service weapons by law enforcement officers has already been started by investigative authorities. At this stage, the policeman has been removed from his official duties.
Therefore, the claim that Jumber Silagava was detained in order to send him to the military has no evidence to confirm it. In fact, publicly available official sources prove that the reason why police officers stopped the car with Jumber Silagava inside was for a violation of traffic rules.
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