American Teacher attacked by Vienna police, Apology for the victim comes too late
Vienna police falsely idenitified an American teacher as a drug dealer, and he
ended up in the hospital with serious injuries.
It took 10 minutes for the undercover policemen to idenitfy themselves.
Vienna-
"I thought they were going to kill me, I was fighting for my life." American
Michael Brennan is stll visibly shaken when he talks about the episode which
happened on Wednesday, February 11. Two men attacked him at the Vienna subway station Spittelau, without warning. The two civilians were undercover Police officers and they mixed Mr. Brennan up with a Drug dealer they were looking for.
Teacher at the Vienna International School
On sunday afternoon the American citizen, who has been an English and PE teacher at the Vienna International School since August 2008, was laying in the Lorenz-Böhler hospital. "Among other things, my back is badly bruised. The pain has been so strong, that now they will have to perform an MRI to see if they can determine the extent of the injuries," he told the Standard.
The attack came out of nowhere
How did you receive the injuries? "I was on the subway when I noticed two men acting strangely, and I knew something wasn't right. I stepped out of the subway car and was on the phone with my girlfriend who was waiting at the station for me. All of the sudden someone hit me from behind, I fell to the floor, and my attacker began beating me as I lay on the floor," the African American teacher explained.
It took police officers 10 minutes to Identify themselves
"I had no idea what was going on and tried to defend myself. I only saw hate in the man's eyes." Another man came to the first attackers aid, only after ten minutes did the two men identify themselves as police officers and apologize to him and his girlfriend, who was also slightly injured as she tried to defend Mr. Brennan. In the ten minutes before the apology, Brennan showed his Identification and decided to contact the US Embassy in Vienna.
Police Chief: Attacking without warning is not standard procedure
"First, I would like to speak to the victim, after the investigation has been
wrapped up. That will happen in the next few days," Vienna's State Police Commander Karl Mahrer said. In addition the district attorney's office has also been notified. "However, it is obviously not standard procedure for the police to attack a person without warning when making an arrest," the Police Chief hurriedly reassured.
"I can defend myself."
For Michael Brennan, however, that's not enough. He has given a statement to the Internal Affairs Detectives covering the case and is taking the two police officers to court. "I defnitely don't want these officers to get off so lightly. Also, I want to prevent this from happening in the future. I can defend myself, but there are enough people out there who cannot help themselves."
Waiting for a Complete Explanation
The Socialist Party of Austria's (SPÖ) human rights spokesperson Marianne Hagenhofer and the Green Party's National Parliament Representative Alev Korun are calling for a complete explanation. Korun criticized that only single cases are examined. "More than likely, the structure needs to be changed and examined, to see if the police are stretched beyond their means," he said.
It seems as though Brennan's doctor has been "overwhelmed" by the incident. "He forbid TV cameras from filming in my boyfriend's room on the grounds that the incident should not be publicized in the media. He also forbid a report in front of the hospital," Brennan's girlfriend explained irritatedly.
Vienna police falsely idenitified an American teacher as a drug dealer, and he
ended up in the hospital with serious injuries.
It took 10 minutes for the undercover policemen to idenitfy themselves.
Vienna-
"I thought they were going to kill me, I was fighting for my life." American
Michael Brennan is stll visibly shaken when he talks about the episode which
happened on Wednesday, February 11. Two men attacked him at the Vienna subway station Spittelau, without warning. The two civilians were undercover Police officers and they mixed Mr. Brennan up with a Drug dealer they were looking for.
Teacher at the Vienna International School
On sunday afternoon the American citizen, who has been an English and PE teacher at the Vienna International School since August 2008, was laying in the Lorenz-Böhler hospital. "Among other things, my back is badly bruised. The pain has been so strong, that now they will have to perform an MRI to see if they can determine the extent of the injuries," he told the Standard.
The attack came out of nowhere
How did you receive the injuries? "I was on the subway when I noticed two men acting strangely, and I knew something wasn't right. I stepped out of the subway car and was on the phone with my girlfriend who was waiting at the station for me. All of the sudden someone hit me from behind, I fell to the floor, and my attacker began beating me as I lay on the floor," the African American teacher explained.
It took police officers 10 minutes to Identify themselves
"I had no idea what was going on and tried to defend myself. I only saw hate in the man's eyes." Another man came to the first attackers aid, only after ten minutes did the two men identify themselves as police officers and apologize to him and his girlfriend, who was also slightly injured as she tried to defend Mr. Brennan. In the ten minutes before the apology, Brennan showed his Identification and decided to contact the US Embassy in Vienna.
Police Chief: Attacking without warning is not standard procedure
"First, I would like to speak to the victim, after the investigation has been
wrapped up. That will happen in the next few days," Vienna's State Police Commander Karl Mahrer said. In addition the district attorney's office has also been notified. "However, it is obviously not standard procedure for the police to attack a person without warning when making an arrest," the Police Chief hurriedly reassured.
"I can defend myself."
For Michael Brennan, however, that's not enough. He has given a statement to the Internal Affairs Detectives covering the case and is taking the two police officers to court. "I defnitely don't want these officers to get off so lightly. Also, I want to prevent this from happening in the future. I can defend myself, but there are enough people out there who cannot help themselves."
Waiting for a Complete Explanation
The Socialist Party of Austria's (SPÖ) human rights spokesperson Marianne Hagenhofer and the Green Party's National Parliament Representative Alev Korun are calling for a complete explanation. Korun criticized that only single cases are examined. "More than likely, the structure needs to be changed and examined, to see if the police are stretched beyond their means," he said.
It seems as though Brennan's doctor has been "overwhelmed" by the incident. "He forbid TV cameras from filming in my boyfriend's room on the grounds that the incident should not be publicized in the media. He also forbid a report in front of the hospital," Brennan's girlfriend explained irritatedly.
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