Taoyuan police yesterday praised the work ethic of police officer Yeh Chi (葉驥), even though a court had found Yeh guilty of using excessive force when he shot and killed a fleeing fugitive.
In a Supreme Court ruling on Monday, Yeh of Yong-an Police Station in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅) was judged to have used excessive force in an incident that occurred in February last year, and was found guilty of professional negligence causing death. In addition to a six-month prison sentence, Yeh was ordered to pay a NT$180,000 fine.
The ruling was final.
In February last year, Yeh attempted to apprehend Luo Wen-chang (羅文昌) — a fugitive wanted on larceny charges — when he discovered Luo driving a car allegedly on his way to sell stolen goods at a rural junkyard in Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋).
When Yeh approached the car, Luo reversed the vehicle and tried to drive away.
According to Yeh, Luo ignored his order to stop the car and attempted to drive away, so Yeh opened the door on the driver’s side, pulled out his handgun and shouted: “Do not move.”
Yeh said that he fired a warning shot in the air and then fired three shots toward Luo’s legs to stop the fugitive from driving away, according to the ruling.
After being shot, Luo sped off in the vehicle before crashing into a rice paddy about 560m away.
He was later pronounced dead at hospital due to massive bleeding from bullet wounds.
Public prosecutors in May last year deemed Yeh had used excessive force while carrying out his duty and charged him with professional negligence causing death.
The indictment said that when Luo was reversing the car, there was no intention to attack or to hit Yeh.
The Taoyuan Police Department in a statement yesterday said: “While we respect the justice system, we regret the court’s verdict. Yeh performed with diligence, a proactive attitude and a conscientious work ethic. When trying to apprehend a fugitive, he used a handgun with courage, which was a correct action in self-defense.”
Some netizens criticized the verdict and initiated a fundraising campaign to help pay Yeh’s fine.
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