Cars used to stop armed criminal

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11 March 2010 at 10:26

Human rights activists have condemned the police force in the Russian capital after they used civilian vehicles as a roadblock to stop a fleeing armed criminal.

The drivers were still inside their cars when they were parked across the main orbital road in Moscow.

The fugitive, who was considered armed and dangerous, however still managed to make his way through the line of vehicles.

Although no-one was injured in the "bizarre" operation, the vehicles were said to be damaged. This came amid revelations that police are emerging more like a threat rather than protection, despite President Dmitry Medvedev's reforms.

One motorist named Stanislav Sutyagin commented on the tactic saying: "We could have been killed. What if the criminal stopped? We could have come under fire. ... Is it really the case that our lives are worthless in the Russian state?"

Russia's Investigative Committee, under the Prosecutor General's Office, said that action would be taken against the officers.

According to reports, Moscow police chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev had fired traffic policeman Alexander Kozlov, whose officers ordered the roadblock operation.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

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