Alarm at the Airport

Man tries to snatch loaded assault rifle from police officer

The female police officer stands nearby while her colleague wrestles with the perpetrator over the assault rifle loaded with 30 rounds of NATO ammunition.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg., www.picturedesk.com/Gerog Hochmuth)

Dramatic scenes at Vienna Airport: In the terminal hall, a giant of a man attempts to snatch a police officer’s assault rifle—loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition—from his hands. As surveillance camera footage shows, however, a female colleague of the officer—who is fighting for his life—stands just a few meters away, watching. The “Krone” has the gripping photos and knows the explosive background details.

The backstory to this near-disaster is straight out of Absurdistan: A long-serving airport officer, also authorized to handle explosives, is called in for backup because an Afghan refugee without a ticket is sneaking past a passenger through security at Vienna Airport. Meanwhile, check-in is underway for an EL-Al flight to Israel.

Sneaked through security with a zipped-up bomber jacket
Highest terror alert! To make matters worse, the suspect—who is currently under investigation by the judicial authorities for property damage and theft—is wearing a zipped-up bomber jacket and carrying a backpack. So it’s impossible to tell whether the man might be wearing an explosive vest. By now, seven uniformed officers are on the scene.

However, several attempts to arrest the 36-year-old fail. Finally, during the scuffle, the lead officer lands a slap with the flat of his hand—described in the incident report as a “mild measure using measured force to effect the arrest.” During questioning, the Afghan man later states: “I have no money and no family. I wanted to fly home.”

The female officer stands by while her colleague wrestles with the suspect over the assault rifle loaded with 30 rounds of NATO ammunition.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg., www.picturedesk.com/Gerog Hochmuth)

Hefty Fine for Officer
Although the public prosecutor’s office deemed the officers’ actions to have been entirely lawful, the Federal Disciplinary Authority stepped in. A guilty verdict follows instead of a commendation. The “mistreatment” is said to have “led to a loss of trust in police work.” The verdict for the model officer, one year after the incident: a 5,500-euro fine, roughly two average monthly salaries.

Police officers and private airport security guards are on top of the 100-kilo Latvian man, trying to subdue him.(Bild: zVg)

A female police officer stands by and watches
While there is great anger and bewilderment among law enforcement ranks, the Senate ruling apparently also has highly dangerous consequences for the motivation of airport police. This is illustrated by a dramatic incident from February that had previously been swept under the rug.

A mentally unstable, 100-kilo giant from Latvia attempts to snatch an officer’s assault rifle—loaded with 30 rounds—in the terminal hall. As a life-and-death struggle ensues, photographic evidence leaked to the “Krone” shows a female officer in uniform standing several meters away and failing to intervene. She merely calls for backup over the radio.

“The next dangerous incident is bound to happen. And then what?”
Perhaps out of fear of being punished for “abuse of authority” as well. It is only thanks to the intervention of employees from a private security firm that the perpetrator is finally subdued just in time, before he can pull the trigger. “But the next dangerous incident—one that threatens the safety of passengers as well—is bound to happen. And what then?” a police officer says, describing the highly tense atmosphere.