A new call for mandatory Video recording of Police crackdowns

The Government Proxy for the Roma Peter Pollak (Ordinary People Party) wants the Interior Ministry to introduce mandatory recordings of police crackdowns, and if the ministry won't oblige he intends to submit a motion in Parliament to that effect. "It's in the interest of people and the entire police to ensure that such police actions won't tarnish the reputation of the police," he said reffering to a recent police raid in Eastern Slovakia. On April 2nd police carried out a region-wide operation involving 139 officers. Vrbnica was one of the villages where police were supposed to look for wanted individuals. Košice Regional Police Head Juraj Lesko maintains that no coercive measures were applied in the operation, but mayor of Vrbnica Jaroslav Tokar, who is of Roma origin, told the media that the police beat up some 19 people, of which 15 needed to seek medical help afterwards. Interior Minister Robert Kaliňak argues that equipping police with cameras is financially difficult. "If they give me €20 million, it can happen instantly," the minister said recently.