While agents of the Spanish National Police Corps and Civil Guard attempted to bar Catalans from voting during their independence referendum, officers of the Mossos d'Esquadra – Catalonia’s autonomous police force – strove to protect voters and bystanders during the ensuing chaos.
According to Sputnik Mundo, some local police officers proved unable to remain impassive in the face of the violence that erupted when Spanish security forces cracked down on voters.
One such episode is depicted on an image snapped in the city of Lleida that shows a local man hugging a crying Mossos d'Esquadra officer.
"Many people came forward to hug them," Boris Llona, the man who took this picture, said.
No ho oblidarem. pic.twitter.com/fkaWFlVS7R
— Boris Llona (@borisllonalonso) 1 октября 2017 г.
Journalist Roser Perera, who witnessed this scene, explained that the officer couldn’t hold back his tears after witnessing the "intervention by Spanish police."
Another video recorded on October 1 in Catalonia shows a group of demonstrators lined by Mossos d'Esquadra officers, with the former singing and cheering for the voters. One of the officers covers his face in an attempt to hide his tears, and a man from the crowd comes forward to embrace him.
Catalan police defend people in Vielha, one of the agents crying pic.twitter.com/iM79SoPFCe
— Help Catalonia (@CataloniaHelp2) 1 октября 2017 г.
Lately Catalans have even started using carnations to decorate Mossos d'Esquadra squad cars and to present these flowers to officers as a show of gratitude for the latter’s efforts.
Los Mossos se van de El Putxet con claveles y entre aplausos y "gracias" de los vecinos. Algunos de ellos, con lágrimas, emocionados pic.twitter.com/toC7nlIjWT
— Nacho Carretero (@NachoCarretero) 1 октября 2017 г.
#NoTincPor Barcelona revive la revolución de los claveles para decir a los @mossos "Gracias por tanto" Foto vía @marga_riga pic.twitter.com/Zi1cf3nWPS
— Joana Morillas (@JoanaMorillas) 26 августа 2017 г.
Agentes de los Mossos se significan con los independentistas dejando cubrir sus coches con claveles pic.twitter.com/YvFMqRtATe
— jose lopez (@JosNegromur) 25 сентября 2017 г.
Meanwhile, at least six Catalan courts have launched criminal cases against Mossos d'Esquadra officers suspected of refusing to follow the High Court of Justice of Catalonia’s order to prevent attempts to use public places to conduct the independence referendum.
Catalan police officers, however, have protested these accusations on Twitter, insisting that they were only striving to maintain order and to protect the people.
La nostra intervenció policial s’està fent sense afectar la normal convivència ciutadana, aplicant els ppis d proporcionalitat i oportunitat
— Mossos (@mossos) 1 октября 2017 г.
Over 2 million Catalans cast their vote during the independence referendum held on Sunday, October 1, with about 90 percent voting in favor of Catalonia becoming an independent state.
The Spanish government declared the referendum illegal and launched a violent police crackdown against the voters that left at least 840 people injured.
