SARATOV, July 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russian authorities said Friday that they were investigating whether police used unnecessary force when inspecting a vehicle occupied by a handicapped man who has claimed that officers dragged him out and beat him.
Wheelchair-bound Vladimir Yemelyanov, who had been a passenger in the car, filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee alleging that he was severely beaten during the search in the southern Russian city of Saratov on Thursday.
The next day, investigators said the complaint was being looked into, and the local police department released a statement affirming that the officers had “acted strictly within the confines of the law.”
Without acknowledging whether the man had been beaten, the police department noted that an ambulance was called for him, and paramedics determined that he did not require hospitalization.
The man “refused to present identification after being requested to do so and was behaving aggressively and swearing,” the police statement said, adding that he was “thus showing disrespect to officers and ignoring their legal requests.”
Police said they had received information that weapons were in the car, but upon inspection no weapons were found.
