Students compensated after Slovak police mistakenly shot at their car

The Interior Ministry has sent financial compensation to three students whose car was hit by several bullets in a police response on the D2 motorway in June of 2013, the Interior Ministry's press department director Ivan Netík and the students' lawyer Karol Spišák said at a press conference on Monday. The Interior Ministry has decided to compensate the students, even though the Prosecutor-General's Office last week scrapped prosecution against the officers. "Despite this, we believe that there was a chain of errors committed by police that resulted in them shooting at the car of the innocent students. So we believe that they should be compensated in some way", said Netík. According to Netík, as the Prosecutor-General's Office scrapped the prosecution, there's now no legal framework for paying the compensation, so Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák decided to provide his own money to pay €3,000 to each of the three students. Apart from this, the students are entitled to receive compensation for the damage of the car from the state budget amounting to €1,800. "Both sides are satisfied with this agreement, we've shaken hands, and thereby we consider the whole case as concluded", said the students' lawyer. The students were driving a car that was sought after by police in connection with a murder. Nevertheless, the alleged murderer sold the car six years before the police response which involved the students. The student who was at the wheel said that he didn't know that the police patrol was attempting to stop him. At first, he stopped, but after a policeman began waving at him, he believed that it was a signal that he may go. After the vehicle began to move away, the police officers drew their pistols and began firing at the car. The officer then claimed that by waving at the driver, he actually wanted to signal him to leave the car.