Criminal Charges Filed Against Police Officer

The Anticorruption Committee of Armenia has issued a statement: "In the criminal proceedings examined by the RA Anticorruption Committee, it has been established that an employee of the patrol service of the RA Police used his official authority to the detriment of state and official interests, and also committed official forgery.

The preliminary investigation found that a patrol officer serving in the Kotayk region stopped a person driving a vehicle under the influence and proposed to undergo a sobriety test in the prescribed manner. When checking the citizen's driver's license, the patrol officer discovered that the driver had already exhausted 8.75 penalty points, and that if fined, the driver would lose the right to operate vehicles. Taking this into account, the friend of the driver who arrived at the scene agreed with the patrol officer to undergo sobriety testing in place of the driver.

As a result, a different person underwent sobriety testing instead of the actual driver, and false information was entered into the relevant device, which meant that the person who was driving the vehicle under the influence would not be subjected to administrative liability and would not lose the right to operate vehicles.

The patrol officer has been charged under parts 1 of articles 441 and 445 of the RA Criminal Code for abusing his official powers and committing official forgery, while the accomplice has been charged under parts 1 of articles 46-441 and 46-445. The patrol officer has admitted his guilt in the presented charges and provided a confession. His service has been suspended. The preliminary investigation has been completed. The prosecutor has approved the indictment, and the case materials have been sent to court."