Costa del Sol police report hate crimes following death of Tasered man

Several National Police officers have individually reported online insults and derogatory comments that could constitute hate crimes, as well as the leaking of their personal information and photographs on forums and social media since the opening of the 'Haitam' case.

The case investigates the death of 35-year-old Haitam who died on 7 December after the police Tasered him in a call shop, while the deceased was allegedly under the influence of drugs.

The cybercrime unit is currently investigating the profiles to identify the individuals behind them. They are analysing both the comments under the videos from security and police cameras from the day of the incident and the photos that identify the officers. Some comments call the police "murderers".

According to the autopsy the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) in Malaga carried out, Haitam died from an adverse drug reaction and a condition known as 'agitated delirium'. In addition, the report states that what further aggravated his state was his heart, deteriorated by various other conditions.

The IML's conclusions differ from those forensic medicine expert Aitor Curiel reached after Haitam's family commissioned a separate report. According to his report, Haitam suffered 86 injuries. Curiel states that he would not have died at that moment had it not been for the multiple traumas he sustained during the restraint actions and the electric shocks.

Both the security camera footage from the call shop and the recordings from the officers' Tasers detail the complete sequence of the police intervention. SUR published most of the content of these videos, which show that Haitam entered the call shop at 6.51pm, highly agitated and demanding a charger. He knocked down a security grille next to the counter, fought with the worker until he knocked him to the ground and slipped behind the display case.

During the eleven minutes Haitam was alone in the shop, he frantically searched the counter for a charger. He had two cell phones and plugged one into a cable in the shop. The cash register was open, but he didn't take a single euro. He picked up a pair of round-tipped scissors (the kind used in schools) and held them next to his phones.

It was 7.03pm when the two police officers entered the shop. "Buddy, get on the floor," one of them said as he walked toward Haitam, his Taser drawn. "Can you see this?" he asked, referring to the weapon.

The police insisted he drop the scissors and cell phones and turn around. Haitam, allegedly in a state of intoxication from drug use, stated that he was going to cooperate. He put down the scissors, but continued ignoring the police instructions until he decided to shake hands with one of the officers.

The police grabbed his wrist and began to handcuff him. "I'm going to cooperate," Haitam repeated. Then he began to squirm. Four more officers entered into the premises and pounced on Haitam to restrain him while he screamed.

He received the first electric shocks to his back. Then, he was punched in the face and received another shock. At 7.08pm, the police handcuffed Haitam. Just seconds later, he received two more electric shocks after he began moving his legs at the request of one of the officers. Immediately afterward, the police also allegedly sprayed him in the face, to which Haitam responded by spitting in the officer's eye. On the ground, handcuffed and with an officer on top of his legs, he received another electric shock. "Will you calm down?" "Shut up, damn it." Haitam was moaning and panting. A few minutes later, he can no longer be heard on the recordings.

The court provisionally shelved the case pending the final autopsy report. The results now reveal that he had consumed cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and cannabis shortly before the incident. He had also apparently consumed alcohol, though not in large quantities.

The toxicology report, which details the amounts of drugs present in Haitam's body, concludes that, although these figures are not lethal in themselves, they autopsies performed on the bodies of people who were regular cocaine users frequently detect them.

The IML report lists 19 injuries on Haitam's body. According to sources, the Taser gun the police used caused two of these injuries. The rest were the result of the police attempts to subdue him. The forensic experts say that these injuries did not endanger his life.