Ashkelon Police Brutality Allegations Surface After Father and Son Arrest
A call for help during a psychotic episode in Ashkelon led to the violent arrest of a father and his son by police, sparking heavy criticism from eyewitness neighbors over alleged brutality.
An emergency call from an apartment building courtyard in Ashkelon ended on Monday with the arrest of a father and his son, a young man struggling with mental health issues. According to eyewitness neighbors, police officers who rushed to the scene used excessive force and beat both men after responding to a call for help during a psychotic episode.
The incident began inside the family home, where the young man experienced a severe psychotic episode, throwing objects and causing a disturbance in the courtyard. The father, unable to control the situation on his own, shouted to neighbors to call the police to help hospitalize his son. However, the situation quickly escalated upon the arrival of emergency responders and law enforcement.
Escalation in the Courtyard
Neighbors stated that they had attempted to calm the young man down before police arrived. Complications arose when a Magen David Adom medic was unexpectedly struck by the young man. The distraught father, panicked that his son had harmed a medical worker, attempted to restrain him and struck him out of sheer helplessness.
Witnesses reported that the arriving police officers immediately resorted to brutal physical force. Sarit, a neighbor who witnessed the event, stated that officers pinned the father and son to the ground. She described severe police brutality, noting that the father was pleading for help and cooperating while being struck repeatedly.
Eyewitness Accounts and Police Response
Another neighbor who filmed part of the incident confirmed that the father and son were lying immobile on the ground while being beaten. According to the witness, an officer even threatened legal action if the footage were published, while a medic attempted to block the filming.
In response to the incident, the Israel Police stated that officers were dispatched to a mutual violence incident between a father and son. According to law enforcement, upon their arrival, resistance was encountered, which forced the officers to use necessary force to subdue the individuals involved.
