Police officer held in Spain over suspect's chokehold death
An off-duty police officer has been arrested in Spain after
allegedly choking a suspected thief to death while restraining him in a Madrid
suburb, authorities said on Thursday.
The incident occurred overnight Tuesday to Wednesday in Torrejon de Ardoz, just east of the Spanish capital.
According to a National Police spokeswoman, a Madrid municipal police officer chased and caught a man, who had allegedly stolen his phone.
Video footage published by Spanish media shows the officer, dressed in plain clothes, pinning the man to the ground with his arm around the suspect's neck as he waits for on-duty police to arrive.
Several bystanders can be heard pleading with the officer to release his grip.
"You're going to suffocate the guy, man. Let go of his neck," one person shouts.
Another can be heard saying: "He's not going to run away. Just let him go."
When National Police officers arrived, the suspect was unresponsive.
Emergency services were called but were unable to revive him.
Emergency services confirmed on social network X that a 36-year-old man had died of asphyxiation in Torrejon de Ardoz after 30 minutes of attempted resuscitation failed to reverse cardiac arrest.
The death has sparked outrage among left-wing groups in the Madrid region, governed by the conservative Popular Party.
The left-wing Mas Madrid party demanded an investigation into the "apparent asphyxiation killing by a police officer".
"If confirmed, this would be a very serious case of racist police violence resulting in the death of a North African man," the party added on X.
A local left-wing group has called for a protest in Torrejon on Saturday, describing the incident as a "racist killing at the hands of police".
The officer, who has not been publicly named, remains in custody.
He was expected to appear before a judge on Thursday, said the central government's representative in the Madrid region, Francisco Martin Aguirre.
