In the incident in question, a driver under the influence of drugs caused a traffic accident and fled from the police. During the chase, three law enforcement officers were injured, and the driver was stopped only by using a firearm.
The high-speed pursuit lasted all the way from Rīga to Ogre and included the man – born in 1980 but unnamed by the court – ramming the cars of both the police and other drivers at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour.
He was only stopped when police opened fire at least 15 times in the direction of the fleeing car. One of the bullets struck him in the head and he was taken to hospital.
Immediately after his recovery from the hospital, he was taken to prison because he was wanted by the police for evading a sentence in a previous conviction for property crimes.
For running away from the law enforcement officers, as well as causing a serious accident, the prosecutor's office demanded that the man be deprived of his freedom for 7 years, as well as prohibited from driving vehicles for 10 years.
The court agreed to disqualify him from driving for 10 years and sentenced him to five and a half years of imprisonment. This was appealed.
Now the district court will have to look again at the part related to causing the accident, as a result of which a policeman suffered serious injuries, in particular whether the fleeing criminal made attempts to avoid injuring the officer or if he was in a position to do so having been injured himself – the degree of his liability, in other words.
Consequently, a decision taken by the lower court has been annulled and the District Court will have to return to the judicial investigation again.
It is known that the man is currently free, as he has already served the sentence that prompted him to flee from the law enforcement officers.
The legal proceedings for causing the accident and attacking the police will continue.
