JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli Border Police officer who shot a Palestinian man in the back with a sponge-tipped bullet has been charged with assault and reckless use of a firearm.
The Palestinian victim was walking away from the policewoman at a West Bank checkpoint when he was shot in the May 2018 incident, the Times of Israel reported.
The Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigation Department determined that the policewoman shot the man “just for the fun of it,” Haaretz reported citing the charge sheet filed on Wednesday. She and two other officers also are charged with obstruction of justice.
The incident reportedly was filmed on the cell phone of another police officer.
The victim never filed a complaint against the incident. He told the Times of Israel Wednesday that several of the officers beat him for about three hours before the incident occurred.
The policewoman, in her early 20s, was serving her mandatory military service. She was transferred from the Border Police after the incident was brought to light.
Sponge-tipped bullets are used to quell riots and are deemed less lethal.
