"On-Site Police Officer Deletes Bodycam Footage"...Claim by Victim of Incheon Interfloor Noise Stabbing Incident

CCTV footage related to the 'Incheon Interfloor Noise Weapon Rampage' incident that occurred on the 3rd floor of a villa in Namdong-gu, Incheon at around 5:05 PM on November 15 last year has been released. The video captures police officers arriving at the scene, the victim's family going up to the site, and the officers coming down the building stairs without taking immediate action. / Photo by Representative of the Victim's Family, video captured

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[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The victim side of the Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident claims that "the police officers who responded to the scene deleted the bodycam footage after being questioned about whether the bodycam recorded the scene during an internal inspection."

On the morning of the 5th at 10 a.m., the victim's family and their representatives made this statement at a press conference held at the Seoul Press Center. The victim side confirmed the testimony given by one of the responding officers, Police Officer Kim, during the process of explaining the deletion of the bodycam footage to the investigative authorities. Subsequently, the victim side stated, "We confirmed that Officer Kim deleted the bodycam footage after the internal investigation."

Kim Minho, the lead attorney of VIP Law Office and the victim's representative, said at the press conference, "Officer Kim cannot be punished for evidence tampering simply because he deleted the footage," but added, "However, if this footage is disclosed in the future, he will not be able to avoid responsibility for damaging crucial evidence of the case."

Additionally, the victim side analyzed evidence obtained through a state compensation claim lawsuit and alleged that the police officers who responded to the scene gave false statements. They testified during a witness investigation on November 16 of last year, the day after the incident, that they could not enter because the building's automatic door was closed. However, upon reviewing the building's entrance CCTV footage, it was confirmed that Officer Kim was already at the scene, and Officer Park and the victim's family were seen entering through the front door together.

Attorney Kim stated, "After the police reviewed the footage and confirmed that the testimony was false, only then did they say, 'There was a mistake in memory.'"

On November 15th last year, at around 5:05 PM, CCTV footage related to the 'Incheon Interfloor Noise Stabbing Incident' that occurred on the 3rd floor of a villa in Namdong-gu, Incheon was released. The video captures a scene where the police officers at the scene describe to other officers the situation in which the victim was stabbed with a weapon.
/Photo by the victim's family representative, video clip provided

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Furthermore, the CCTV footage showed Officer Kim describing to Officer Park the scene of the victim being stabbed with a weapon and hearing the victim's screams, followed by them descending the stairs.

The victim side demanded an explanation from the police, stating that the police did not receive or seize the bodycam footage, thereby giving Officer Kim time to delete the footage. They also said that they are gathering legal advice on whether the responding officers can be charged with dereliction of duty and urged for a prompt investigation to replace this process.

Meanwhile, Yoo, the representative of the victim's family who attended the press conference, said, "We feel an unimaginable level of devastation due to the police organization's insincere attitude aimed at downplaying the incident," and added, "I hope the police will be reborn so that victims like me will not appear again."

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