A video of  police officer Luca Brincat gesturing in a threatening manner using a penknife while seated in front of "a black person" was posted in a Whatsapp group, a Court was told on Thursday.

"In the video, Brincat is heard telling the man that he should stop causing trouble, 'or else!'. Brincat then proceeded to gesture as if he would slit his throat," inspector Omar Zammit testified.

The compilation of evidence against three young police officers accused of abducting and beating foreigners started yesterday in front of Magistrate Joe Mifsud.

Rica Mifsud Grech, 22, from Floriana, and Jurgen Falzon, 24, from Santa Venera, and Luca Brincat, 20, from Qormi, were arrested last weekend after being reported by fellow police officers.

Zammit testified that on the night between 1 and 2 September, Jurgen Falzon and Luca Brincat had noticed a foreigner shouting because he was drunk in Marsa. The two officers, who were accompanied by a third colleague, called Lydon, placed the man against a car to search him.

Lydon told police that Luca Brincat and Jurgen Falzon proceeded to beat up the man. He also claimed that Jurgen Falzon even threw a rock at the man's direction. Lydon had told police that his two colleagues had exhibited similar aggression with other foreigners.

The court heard how Lydon had pointed out a video that was posted in a chat group with the accused, and other police officers from the community policing team. "The black man was filmed from behind."

Laying down the timeline of events, Zammit said that on Friday 7 October, the police force received a report from a female police constable about crimes allegedly committed by her colleagues at the Ħamrun police station. They allegedly beat foreigners. She said that she had confided with two other colleagues about the alleged crimes.

Zammit said that when analysing footage from the body cams of the accused, a recording on Luca Brincat's bodycam showed a foreign national alleging he was beaten up by Brincat and Falzon. This appears to have been a separate incident.

The court was told that neither of the three victims' injuries were certified, because they had not sought medical help.

Superintendent Graziella Muscat, who is stationed at the Professional Standards Unit within the police corps. She said that on 4 October, an email was received by the unit from two sergeants.

"That is where the issue all started," she told the court. "These two sergeants wanted to speak to us about their subordinates. We put it on our work agenda, and it was scheduled for the 10 October, because we didn't know what it was about."

"I received a call about two days later from one of the sergeants, who said the issue could not wait because the constables were beating up black people and leaving them there," Muscat said.

She said her unit was also aware of Brincat's video. Muscat explained that the video shows the police officer asking the victim his name and then pretending to write the name using the pocket knife.

"We also knew about two other victims, apart from the one shown in the video. We then started looking for them. On one of them, all we knew was that he last resided at a Valletta residence but was not there. The police then proceeded to go to the Tiger Bar area, to ask the community there, but to no avail," she said.

Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Omar Zammit prosecuted. Lawyers Anthony Vella and Kaylie Bonnett represented the Office of the Attorney General.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb are defence counsel for Luca Brincat, Dalli and Dean Hili for Rica Mifsud Grech and Edmond Cuschieri for Falzon.

 

 

12:28 That is all for today. Thank you for following. A summary of proceedings will be published shortly. 

12:28 Caruana steps off the witness stand. The sitting is over. The next appointments are for the 18 and 20 October. 

12:22 Police Major Eugenio Caruana takes the witness stand. He recounts the testimony given by the police officers who reported the accused. This is a re-run of the testimony given by other investigators previously

12:17 He steps off the witness stand. 

12:17 Inspector Jeffrey Rizzo takes the witness stand. He details Jurgen Falzon’s arrest, how his mobile was confiscated and handed over to a court expert. 

12:15 Muscat steps off the witness stand. 

12:15 Defence lawyer Veronique Dalli asks Muscat whether her unit received any report from Rica Mifsud Grech, against her sergeant. Dalli says her client had reported on unethical behaviour by her supervisor, including “sexist actions”. Muscat insists she has no knowledge of the report. 

12:10 Defence lawyer Edmond Cuschieri asks Muscat whether she knew that her unit had received any reports on the accused’s sergeants. “Not to my knowledge, no,” she replies. 

12:09 Superintendent Graziella Muscat continues testifying. She gives details on where and when the three accused were arrested. The accused’s cars and homes were searched. A taser torch not issued by the corps was found at Rica Mifsud Grech’s home. 

12:07 QUICK RECAP: We are assisting for the first sitting in the compilation of evidence against three suspended police officers accused of rounding up foreigners, beating them and abandoning them in a secluded area. The three officers are: Rica Mifsud Grech, Luca Brincat and Jurgen Falzon. They deny the charges. The accused were reported by their colleagues in the force. 

12:03 Muscat: “We also knew about two other victims, apart from the one shown in the video. We then started looking for them. On one of them, all we knew was that he last resided at a Valletta residence but was not there. The police then proceeded to go to the Tiger Bar area, to ask the community there, but to no avail.” 

12:00 She says her unit was also aware of the video in which the pocket knife is visible. She explains that the video shows the police officer asking the victim his name and then pretending to write the name using the pocket knife.

11:58 Muscat: “I received a call about two days later from one of the sergeants, who said the issue could not wait because the constables were beating up black people and leaving them there.” 

11:57 Muscat says that on 4 October, an email was received by the unit from two sergeants. “That is where the issue all started,” she tells the court. “These two sergeants wanted to speak to us about their subordinates. We put it on our work agenda, and it was scheduled for the 10 October, because we didn’t know about what it was.” 

11:56 Muscat is stationed at the Professional Standards Unit within the police corps. 

11:56 The second witness for today is Superintendent Graziella Muscat. 

11:55 Defence lawyer Edmond Cuschieri, appearing for Jurgen Falzon, asks whether the injuries mentioned by the victim were certified. Zammit replies: “No because they did not go to the authorities.” 

11:53 Zammit says that the victim indicated that a third officer was present, and although he did not beat him up the officer stood aside and did not try to stop his colleagues. 

11:53 Under cross-examination, Zammit says that one of the victims told investigators that he was picked up by the accused while drunk. He was taken to a place not very far from Marsa and was beaten up over there. The victim told police he was punched and kicked by the accused. 

11:52 Constables are also issued with body cams and pepper spray. 

11:51 Zammit says that constables have handcuffs and tasers. 

11:49 Zammit is cross-examined by Brincat’s defence lawyer, Franco Debono. The lawyer asks the inspector to say what equipment police constables are issued with by the force. 

11:48 Zammit says that after the officers were arrested, police started looking for their victims and one was traced to prison

11:47 Zammit says that Brincat was interrogated in the presence of his lawyers when discharged from hospital. Brincat refused to answer. 

11:45 Inspector Zammit testifies that when analysing footage from the body cams of the accused, a recording on Luca Brincat’s bodycam shows a foreign national alleging he was beaten up by Brincat and Falzon. This appears to be a separate incident. 

11:43 The police officer who reported the three had showed the inspector where they would beat up the foreign nationals. 

11:43 On the 8 October, Luca Brincat was admitted to the Floriana polyclinic because he complained about chest pains and that is why he couldn’t be charged with the other two police officers. 

11:43 Laying down the time line of events, Zammit says that on Friday 7 October, the police force received a report from a female police constable about crimes allegedly committed by her colleagues at the Ħamrun police station. They allegedly beat foreigners. She said that she had confided with two other colleagues about the alleged crimes. 

11:40 Inspector Omar Zammit continues testifying that Jurgen Falzon was arrested at his Santa Venera home. A search in his vehicle and his bedroom revealed nothing. 

11:39 A taser torch and pepper spray not issued by the corps, which were found in Rica Mifsud Grech’s car, and the pocket knife visible in the video are exhibited in court. 

11:38 The black man was filmed from behind. 

11:38 The court hears how Lydon had pointed out a video that was posted in a chat group with the accused, and other police officers from the community policing team. The video shows Luca Brincat with a penknife, standing in front of a black person. In the video, Brincat is heard telling the man that he should stop causing trouble, “or else!”. Brincat then proceeded to gesture as if he would slit his throat. 

11:35 Lydon told police that Luca Brincat and Jurgen Falzon proceeded to beat up the man. He also claimed that Jurgen Falzon even threw a rock at the man’s direction. Lydon had told police that his two colleagues had exhibited similar aggression with other foreigners. 

11:34 The court hears how Luca Brincat told Lydon to drive to Qormi. Lydon asked why they were going there instead of the police depot. Lydon claimed he was told by Luca Brincat to turn off the bodycam, and when he refused they turned it off for him. 

11:33 Zammit testifies that on the night between 1 and 2 September, Jurgen Falzon and Luca Brincat had noticed a foreigner shouting because he was drunk in Marsa. The two officers, who were accompanied by a third colleague, called Lydon, placed the man against a car to search him.

11:31 Inspector Omar Zammit will be testifying. He says a female constable had gone to police HQ, to report her colleague over some crimes. The crimes included beating up individuals. Zammit says that together with a CMRU inspector, he was charged with carrying out the investigation.