Two weeks ago, the DIAS police unit spotted a suspicious car carrying three people and stopped it for a check.

When the driver saw the police officers, he accelerated and fled. The officers located the car in Aigaleo and the chase began, continuing all the way to Perama. There, as we saw on television news, a bus was coming from the opposite direction and blocked its path. In his attempt to escape, the driver reversed and crashed into, dragging along, two police motorcycles, injuring officers.

At that point, the police used their weapons in an effort to immobilize the vehicle. The result was the fatal wounding of the driver and the injury of another person. The third person in the vehicle fled.

As it turned out, the car had been stolen and one of the three - most likely the man who was killed - was a known thief.

The next day, Roma in various parts of the country blocked roads, burned tires, and so on. And wherever police went to restore traffic, the Roma threw stones at the officers.

That same evening, known figures from Exarcheia held a rally. Of course, the rally was not held to condemn the car theft, but to condemn the police.

Also, some very talkative SYRIZA supporters began slandering the police, accusing them of excessive use of force and other similar things. Old tricks, same old story.

Who does not want a better police force? Those who fight it and insult it. Who are they?

The Minister of Citizen Protection, in order to calm the Roma, requested “disciplinary investigation of the case within five days.” But if police officers are being accused with such haste, why should they pursue the next criminal?

Note that the seven police officers who took part in the chase, after their testimony before the investigating judge and with the prosecutor’s agreement, were released.

The Roma, in various parts of the country, continued to block roads, light fires, and so on. And we are talking about national highways, such as Corinth-Patras and Corinth-Kalamata. Clearly, any blockade of a national road causes unbearable hardship for drivers.

The Roma protested because the police officers were not remanded in custody for the fatal wounding of the Roma man. Yet their own actions show that they are operating without restraint. And this is not the first time. If they think they are a “state within a state,” they are mistaken. But the state is to blame for that.

Of course, any death of any human being from any cause is the loss of a human life. In this case, we are talking about a police operation that resulted, fortunately, in the fatal wounding of one person. Because there was a possibility that all three Roma and some police officers could have been killed.

Could the incident have been avoided? Yes, if the suspects had accepted the police check. From the moment they fled and the chase began, the risk of an accident or fatal crash increased.

Could the police officers have avoided the fatal wounding? That depends on whether they knew that the fugitives had weapons or not. Still, experience and common sense tell us that people who steal cars and refuse police checks are not “little saints.” On the contrary, they can range from petty thieves without weapons to terrorists with Kalashnikovs.

The state has, from time to time, taken various measures in favor of the Roma, but the situation remains problematic. It should be noted that the late Metropolitan Augustinos Kantiotis of Florina managed to integrate the Roma into the society of Florina. Ceaușescu did the same in Romania, by force.

The Roma react to every arrest and conviction of a Roma person. However, they must understand that the law applies to everyone. The state, too, needs to make tireless efforts to integrate the Roma into society. And only linking benefits to mandatory school attendance for children can change the situation. This benefits both the Roma and the state.

Paul Marantos

marantosp@gmail.com