The fateful convocation in Kaunas ended in tragedy: a young officer will have to exchange his successful career for a prison cell

The young patrolman from Kaunas Rokas Laukutis had already managed to receive the award as the most resistant to bribery officer of the temporary capital, he participated in the competitions of the best policemen.

He was only positively evaluated by colleagues not only in the police, but also in the Eurocash security service, where he made extra money. Leaders described him as honest, responsible, polite when communicating and avoiding conflict.

Working two jobs, he was still thinking about a career, studying fifth year law and police. But all dreams of a successful career fell apart after a fateful phone call and a blow to the head from a drunkard.

According to the Kaunas Regional Court decision passed last week, R. Laukutis was found guilty of serious health disorders and abuse of service, for which he was sentenced to a real sentence of 2 years in prison.

A drunk hooligan got mad at the cafe

The story for which R. Laukaitis was convicted took place on November 14, 2019. The guy who was working as a security guard that night was already finishing his shift 22 hours ago. received a subpoena about an enraged drunken hooligan at a pizzeria in Kaunas, Pramonės Street.

As the waitresses later told investigators, two boiled guys walked into the cafe and asked for a bottle of whiskey. At first they just drank alcohol, sometimes they were going to break a boxing pear right here.

After that, one of those AA guys started clinging to customers, at first he went abroad and tried to talk to him in Russian. The man was obviously afraid of his flying boyfriend, his hands were shaking, so he left the cafe on the occasion.

According to witnesses, the guy looked quite aggressive, yelling, cursing. Even an old friend tried to calm him down.

“I walked behind him and apologized for his behavior, I said, do not be afraid, he would not do anything,” later declared his friend in court, adding that he felt that the situation could get out of control, so he asked for protection. the same.

The waitress who was working at the time recalled that when approached to order cocktails, AA threatened that if she asked for protection, he would send his gang here. Worried workers pressed the alarm button.

“I tried to communicate with him politely, to calm him down, because I know the guard always moves slowly. At one point, he tried to grab a glass from the bar and said he would take it to the bar with the customers, but I stopped him,” said the waitress.

Fearful that more serious inconveniences could occur at any time, the employee asked security guards working at a nearby store for help. Although it was not their job to intervene in such conflicts, the men agreed to help.

“We found two guys, one calm, the other fiercer,” the security guard recalled. – We asked them to leave. I drove that fiercest, he said he had gone to Afghanistan, he had visited martial arts, he had a black belt. I had the strength, I was already thinking about breaking hands, putting handcuffs and calling patrols, I really wanted to fight. But in the end we managed to beautify them and take them to the starting gate. “

Fatal blow

About 5 minutes after these events, R. Laukutis appeared at the cafe. The staff told him that his services were no longer needed.

R. Laukutis turned toward the exit, where he met two boys. One of them screamed and ran to the store, the other tried to stop him.

“I came and told him to go home. The one at the top said that everything was fine, they were leaving, and the one at the bottom began to shout, told him not to scold him, said he was a specialist in martial arts and threatened to cut him off, ”R. Laukutis told the facts. pm.

After a brief conflict, everyone got out and the guard was ready to go his own way and finish the shift.

“Then I felt that they grabbed me from behind, I turned around and saw that my hands were like a mosquito. There was nothing to do, I hit him or just pushed him, it all happened very quickly. Because he said he was a fighter, that mosquito scared me ”, R. Laukutis showed the emotions of the fateful moment in court.

After the hit, the guy collapsed and his head hit the pavement. He spilled blood and lost consciousness. The guard turned him on his side so that his tongue did not cover his airways, checked his pulse, and immediately called doctors and police.

The victim suffered very serious injuries: his skull was smashed and blood spilled into his brain.

“The neurosurgeon told me that if I had fallen a little to the right, I would have been left with a vegetable. Even now I can barely hear it with one ear, ”the victim, AA, later said in court.

I do not agree with the excuse

R. Laukutis was sued for abuse of office and serious health problems. After examining the case, the judge of the Kaunas District Court decided to acquit the accused.

After evaluating all the data in the case, the judge decided that R. Laukutis had been attacked and acted in conditions of necessary defense.

This decision was appealed both by the prosecution, which demanded a sentence of 3 years in prison, and by the victim.

According to the prosecutor, there was no need to use violence in this situation. Proof of this is that both the cafe staff and the security guards who invited him out of the store managed to verbally appease the aggressive man.

And besides, even if it was necessary to stop the thug, R. Laukutis had other tools for that: gas, handcuffs. Also, he could have at least used wrestling instead of hitting his face.

“In the prosecutor’s opinion, the content of the video denies the testimony of R. Laukutis that the victim walked towards R. Laukutis, grabbed him and threatened to beat him. The video shows that when the victim AA raises his hand, possibly hanging from the shoulder of R. Laukutis, he turns around and, even without assessing the situation, simply hits victim AA in the head area, after which he falls, “the complaint says. .

And the victim pointed out that the violence was used by the security guard without even warning him, although he is required by law to do so. Furthermore, R. Laukutis, who worked in the police for 5 years and in security for 7 years, had to be able to react appropriately in such situations.

“The victim agrees that he himself behaved inappropriately, was arrogant, drunk and did not focus on the environment, he could have offended the accused who arrived at the scene, but points out that he did not use physical violence against the accused R. Laukutis , did not hurt him, did not hit him, did not pick him up because the accused had detained the victim’s right hand before beating him. According to the victim, he did not pose a real threat to the health or safety of other people, “says the complaint of the victim.

It also notes that the officer sought to evade criminal responsibility from the beginning and said he only pushed the victim.

However, the audio recordings of the telephone conversations in the criminal case show that the defendant called the control room of the security company immediately after the impact and stated that he had “cut” the person. It is also clear from the video of the case that the accused hit the victim on the head and did not push her or try to neutralize her, ”the complaint reads.

Didn’t see the necessary defense

The Kaunas Regional Court judges agreed with the allegations’ arguments. It was recognized that the violence used was excessive and that gas or wrestling could have been used to resolve the conflict, but not a blow to the head.

Also, seeing the aggressive men, another security guard offered to call the police, but R. Laukutis said that it was not necessary to do so and that he would take care of himself.

According to the panel of judges, such actions of R. Laukutis prove that after assessing the condition and behavior of the victim, he learned his degree of danger, possible actions, because, according to the victim, he washed his hands that he would recover on his own, it is In other words, he realized that AA did not represent a real danger to him and, in case of such danger, he would recover, ”the court noted.

It should be noted that R. Laukutis is a security guard, who is equated with an official, in addition, as already mentioned, he also works in the police for 5 years, so in a conflict situation, he is subject to greater requirements. than an ordinary citizen. Assessment of the situation and use of rational and proportionate actions and measures, ”says the sentence.

Sent behind bars

The court, after evaluating these circumstances, annulled the acquittal. The ruling took into account the fact that the man is married, and both his police and security officers view him exclusively in a positive light.

“The defendant has previously been convicted once and has been administratively sanctioned once, so it is considered that his criminal actions analyzed in this case are accidental, isolated, he is not prone to crime, on the contrary, he is characterized as a duty, honest employee who has never had disciplinary action. It is also stated that while working on patrol, he solves business matters in a qualified manner, adheres to the rules of legality and discipline in the service, constantly shows good results, courteously patrols with the citizens, tries to avoid conflicts, “says the court. outside.

The fact that the situation was influenced by the provocative behavior of the victim herself was also recognized as a mitigating liability.

Taking this into account, the judges decided to impose a lighter punishment than that prescribed by law: 2 years in prison.

As Milda Bučnytė, representative of the Kaunas Regional Court explained, since the child was tried for a serious crime, probation cannot be imposed.

Egidijus Jonas Grigaravičius, the lawyer defending the convict, said that after such decisions, no one would dare to work for the police or the security service.

This verdict has already entered into force, but the lawyer is preparing to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Lithuania.