By Tara Rippin • Published: 02 May 2020 • 12:41
FOOTAGE shows one of the Local Police officers, who was arrested, call the victim ugly and horrible, during an offensive rant.
The Government Delegation of the Valencian Community confirmed the officer who “committed the abuse” spent last night in a cell, after being arrested by the National Police, and is expected to appear before a court today.
The suspended officer who recorded the images on his mobile phone – which has gone viral – has initially been charged with failing to carry out his duty of care, and will also appear before the judicial authority.
In the video recorded from inside the patrol car, a masked officer insults the transgender person, saying: “By day you are even uglier, you are horrible. What do you do now that you cannot pull c**ks or steal? How do you live? If you used to pull a few d**ks with your ugliness, now…”
When the trans person replies, “No, no.” The accused cop can be heard saying: “I told you the other day and I didn’t report you, that you can’t be around.”
“You have to report it,” says his colleague and driver. “Go away, you pig!”, before driving off in Calle Doctor Orts Llorca.
Yesterday afternoon, Alicante Town Hall, in collaboration with the Local Police Headquarters, announced they had opened a disciplinary file and the provisional suspension of both officers.
The case has also been transferred to the courts, as they consider that “it may constitute a criminal offence.”
The Valencian Observatory Against LGTBIFobia is believed to have brought the video to light.
Agentes de Policía Local de un municipio valenciano se graban humillando a una persona transexual. "De día eres todavía más feo, eres horrible. ¿Qué hacéis ahora que no podéis jalar pollas ni robar? ¡Que te vayas, cerdo!"@generalitat @GVAinclusio @interiorgob @GVAjusticia pic.twitter.com/InSEp5I7Mz — Miquel Ramos 🥘 (@Miquel_R) May 1, 2020
Agentes de Policía Local de un municipio valenciano se graban humillando a una persona transexual.
"De día eres todavía más feo, eres horrible.
¿Qué hacéis ahora que no podéis jalar pollas ni robar?
¡Que te vayas, cerdo!"@generalitat @GVAinclusio @interiorgob @GVAjusticia pic.twitter.com/InSEp5I7Mz
— Miquel Ramos 🥘 (@Miquel_R) May 1, 2020
It denounced “the transophobic attacks produced by a local police patrol” and demanded “the cessation of the two officers, both the one who assaults and the one who records, who were involved in an attack against a trans person”.
“The degrading treatment perpetuated by the two municipal police officers forces us to demand that the Prosecutor’s Office open the necessary proceedings to condemn this transgendered aggression and the officers who provoked it,” a statement said.
The departments of Justice and Equality and Inclusive Policies of the Generalitat Valenciana, governed by the PSOE, Compromís and Podemos, also announced the opening of an investigation and will send the facts to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Valencian President, the Socialist Ximo Puig, described in a tweet as “absolutely intolerable the images of transphobia” that he has seen “in a denigrating video”.
“I am indignant and I sympathise with the person who has been attacked,” he added.
Joan Baldoví, deputy for Compromís in Congress, sent a tweet calling the video “absolutely repugnant” and said that on Monday, “first thing”, he would denounce it in Congress. The judicial authority will have to classify the type of crime.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region. She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990. Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. She loves being part of a community that has a wonderful expat and Spanish mix, and strives to bring the latest and most relevant news to EWN’s loyal and valued readers.
Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.