A 48-year-old local man who had been thrown out of the Old Irish Pub in Slagelse in central Zealand was shot in the groin by police officers early this morning. The case is being investigated by Den Uafhængige Politiklagemyndighed (DUP), an independent body that investigates incidents involving police officers.
Although originally listed in critical condition due to loss of blood, police now report that the man is out of danger.
“He was hit in the groin, and we have been told that he is out of danger and stabilised,” Kristian Palmann Jensen, a chief consultant at DUP, told TV2 News.
Jensen said that the two from South Zealand and Lolland – Falster Police officers involved in the shooting would be questioned by the DUP.
Refused to drop the knife
Jensen declined to speculate on whether or not the shooting was justified, but witnesses said that the man had been asked to leave the club and then came back and confronted the doorman.
When police arrived at the scene, the man was wielding a knife. Police asked the man to drop the weapon and fired several warning shots. When he refused to put the knife down, police shot the man in the groin.
The 48-year-old was charged at with attempted murder in absentia at a preliminary hearing today.
"I will kill you"
The indictment said that the assailant had threatened the bouncer’s life, saying, “I will kill you, you're a dead man. I’ll be back."
The man returned about ten minutes later and attacked the bouncer with a kitchen knife without striking him.
The reason given for the man being removed from the club was that he refused to put his coat in the cloakroom.
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Police shootings rare
Although the number of shooting incidents in Denmark is on the rise, mostly due to gang violence, police shootings remain rare. While there have been incidents of warning shots fired over the last year, the number of persons killed by police bullets since 2006 is less than ten, according to statistics from the state attorney’s office.
The country of Iceland was shocked in December by its first ever death resulting from a police shooting.
