The incident took place in South Pitesti Bus Station, three years ago. Alexandru Barbu, aged 63, was killed by policemen and gendarmes. They were accused of abusive behavior and blows causing death.
The file was opened at the Military Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Military Court. Later, it was transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Argeș Court.
Police officers accused of fatal blows
The gendarme involved in the incident was investigated under judicial control, and the case against him was dismissed. Instead, two policemen, Drăghici Daniel Petruț and Florea Ilie, were accused of abusive behavior and blows causing death.
They spent a week in preventive detention, and were later placed under house arrest for 6 months. After the expiration of the measure, both policemen were investigated in freedom.
One of the agents retired
One of the two retired shortly after the tragedy in the bus station. The second agent involved in the case resumed his post in a department in the municipality of Pitesti. At the first term in this case, which was scheduled for March 2024, the court decided to postpone it.
At the deadline of April 1, Florea Ilie requested a trial by simplified procedure. His colleague requested the application of the guilty plea procedure. At the same time, he contested all the evidence administered during the criminal investigation phase. Moreover, the policeman also requested the re-examination of all the witnesses. On the images taken by the investigators in the area, one of the policemen can be seen putting his knee on the man’s neck.
“I am sorry. For a 63-year-old man, to get hold of five policemen, it seems something to me… It’s not humane! What did they get, to hit you in the head on the street? I do not understand! I do not understand! They are made to level, the cop. Did the executioners arrive?”, specified one of the witnesses.
The two policemen arrive in front of the court
On April 29, two witnesses who were near the crime scene were heard. Alexandru Barbu was among the citizens who were in the Pitesti Bus Station area when a fire broke out nearby.
The man was on a patio and police say he refused to leave the area. The two policemen also claimed that they would have forced him to sit on a chair, but he would have agitated. For this reason, the police knocked him to the ground, climbed on top of him and beat him, and shortly after, the handcuffed victim died.
