Prosecutors Seek 1-Year Prison Sentence for Police Officers' Inadequate Response to Incheon Stabbing Incident

Former police officers who were prosecuted for inadequate response during the 2021 'Incheon Stabbing Rampage' incident were sentenced to prison.

On the 13th, at the first trial sentencing hearing presided over by Judge Lee Ju-young of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 17, the prosecution requested a one-year prison sentence each for former Sergeant A (49, male) and former Police Officer B (25, female), who were charged with dereliction of duty.

The prosecution explained, "It is necessary to strictly punish dereliction of duty when a state agency abandons the crime scene."

The two former police officers were indicted without detention for their inadequate response when dispatched to the scene of a stabbing rampage that occurred in a villa in Namdong-gu, Incheon, in November 2021.

They failed to stop or left the scene when Mr. C (50, male), who lived on the 4th floor of the villa, wielded a weapon against a woman in her 40s residing on the 3rd floor. The victim was stabbed in the neck and underwent brain surgery, and her husband and daughter also sustained injuries to their faces and hands.

Police officers dispatched during the Incheon stabbing incident [Provided by the victim's side=Yonhap News]

Former Police Officer B claimed during the police investigation, "After seeing the blood spurting from the victim (after being stabbed), I went into a 'blackout' state," while former Sergeant A stated, "I went outside the building because I thought I needed to use the radio to request backup."

Former Police Officer B admitted to the charges of dereliction of duty during the trial, whereas former Sergeant A argued, "Legally, the crime of dereliction of duty does not apply."

They were dismissed after the incident for violating their duty of sincerity but filed an administrative lawsuit claiming the disciplinary action was unfair, which was rejected.

Meanwhile, Mr. C, who was charged with attempted murder, received a final sentence of 22 years in prison.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.