The National Police justifies the charges for "a radical minority"

PalmaThe National Police attributes the charges made on Sunday at the end of the demonstration against tourist saturation to a "radical minority". Police sources consulted by Europa Press assure that a group integrated within the tens of thousands of participants threw stones, cobblestones, and sticks at the agents, four of whom were injured.

According to the police version, the first incidents began when the demonstration reached Les Voltes, where the reading of the manifesto and various musical performances were planned. Until then, the same sources admit, the mobilization had proceeded peacefully.

The tension would have started at the checkpoints established to avoid crowds in a space that the Police consider "very reduced". Some people got "angry" and began to "shake" the plastic barriers placed by the agents. When part of the attendees became "nervous" and began to insult the police, those responsible for the operation spoke with a member of the organization to explain via megaphone how entry to the venue would be regulated.

Always according to the police account, this person did not convey the instructions and announced that there was enough space inside Les Voltes, but that the Police were preventing access. Some demonstrators managed to break the cordon and enter the venue, while the majority had to follow the end of the event from the wall.

Another group tried to access it via the walkway located next to the lake in the Parc de la Mar. At that point, there was another checkpoint to allow people to enter "little by little", but some demonstrators overcame it. Police sources maintain that they also threw stones and bottles and surrounded the agents, who had to receive support from another unit.

The delegate of the Spanish government in the Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, explained this Monday that both he and the police commanders had spoken with the organizers in the preceding days. According to Rodríguez, they warned them that Les Voltes was not an "ideal" space to accommodate the expected crowd and proposed changing the place where the demonstration was to end.

“There was a first closure to control capacity, and when it was seen that it was not full, a second entry was allowed until the point that the Police considered necessary to guarantee security,” he stated.

The charges after the reading of the manifesto

Once the reading of the manifesto and the interpretation of La Balanguera, several hundred people moved to the junction of Antoni Maura avenue with Sagrera promenade.

There, according to the police version, a “minority of very violent and aggressive radicals” continued to throw stones, cobblestones, and sticks at the officers. Four members of the operation were injured and, according to sources consulted, the police experienced a situation of “fear”.

The Police assure that some demonstrators assaulted officers and that another attacked a tourist who had approached the area to record the incidents. Police sources argue that this situation led the officers to carry out several charges and fire blanks with the weapons intended for launching rubber projectiles to disperse the concentrated.

One person was arrested when the riots had already ended as the alleged author of the crimes of injury, assault against an authority agent, and public disorder. This Monday morning she remained arrested at the station awaiting judicial disposition.

Investigating the baton blow to a photojournalist

Consulted sources assure that the National Police will act "forcefully" against any "reprehensible" conduct during the incidents, whether it was carried out by protesters or by members of the security detail.

Alfonso Rodríguez has asked the superior chief of the National Police in the Islands, José Antonio Puebla, to open an internal investigation to determine if the charges were proportional and if responsibilities need to be clarified.

The investigation will also analyze the injuries suffered by a photojournalist while covering the protest. The images show how an officer hits him with a baton and causes a bleeding wound on his head. Police sources admit that this action "cannot be justified" and assure that the person responsible will be identified and acted upon "forcefully".

Jupol accuses the delegate of discrediting the officers

The police union Jupol has criticized Alfonso Rodríguez for having described the charges as “unmeasured and violent”. It considers that the delegate, as the highest responsible for the security forces in the Balearic Islands, should worry that four police officers were injured while guaranteeing public order.

“It is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible that, instead of supporting the agents who risk their physical integrity to protect citizens and guarantee security, he opts to make statements questioning their actions without focusing on the violence suffered by the police,” the union maintains.

Jupol maintains that whoever holds the “maximum responsibility in security matters” must act “with rigor, institutional responsibility, and support for those who comply with the law” and not contribute to discrediting their work.

The union attributes the intervention to “infiltrated radical groups” who would have previously attacked the agents and forced them to intervene to restore public order. According to Jupol, the Police made a “proportional, congruent, and progressive” use of the available means and acted in accordance with legality.