Police Officer in Uniform Attempted Burglary, Currently Undergoing Surgery After Falling from 2nd Floor: Details

An extraordinary incident occurred in Ashtarak last night. R. H., a 36-year-old resident of Karbi village and a first-class officer serving in the Shirak region, attempted to commit a burglary at the home of his fellow villager, S. N. However, he was caught on the spot by the neighbors, who beat him, resulting in a head injury and foot damage. He was transferred to the hospital in Ashtarak.

This information was provided by human rights advocate Karapet Poghosyan from Gyumri, who noted that a criminal case has been initiated against the officer for eight counts of residential burglary. The Information from the Armenian Investigative Committee confirmed this, noting other incidents of residential burglary occurred in the expanded Ashtarak community and there is evidence suggesting this individual may be involved.

“The police are also engaged in residential burglary. Last night, R. Hayrapetyan, a first-class officer of the Patrol Service in Shirak, was caught committing a burglary in the expanded community of Ashtarak. Local residents intervened, beat him up, and then called the police. According to my information, a criminal case has been initiated against Hayrapetyan for eight counts of residential burglary. The ‘burglary officer’ is currently in Ashtarak Medical Center with open wounds on his head and a broken foot, which is scheduled for surgery shortly,” wrote the human rights advocate.

According to information reaching Aravot.am, he was in uniform at the time of the burglary. This officer had been serving in the Shirak region for about a year, and colleagues describe him as a discreet officer. The news has been unexpected for them. R. H. had not been residing in Shirak but was commuting back and forth; this incident occurred after he changed shifts and headed back to his village.

Journalist Gagik Shamshyan reported that personnel from the Criminal Investigation and Community Policing Departments of the Ararat Regional Police and the Investigative Committee's Regional Investigative Department have obtained new data regarding the burglaries committed by R. Hayrapetyan.

Under pressure, he confessed to nine counts of burglary carried out in the villages of Karbi and Ohanavan.

R. H. previously worked in the Military Police of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. Interestingly, former member of the Police Reform Coordinating Council Daniel Ioannisyan commented on the incident on his Facebook page, saying:

“Yes, there are criminals among the more than 10,000 police officers. Is this news to anyone? It is indeed sad that such a person exists among the patrol officers who have passed certain filters, but mistakes can happen when selecting around 2000 patrol officers. In any case, as a member of the acceptance commission for patrol officers, I apologize to the public for selecting an officer who is a criminal. But I’m curious about one question: why was there no uproar when several months ago, a senior operative of the Arabkir division was caught selling drugs, after which the Arabkir division was recognized as the best division of the year?”