Man indicted for attempted murder of officer at child hit-and-run protest

The man who stabbed a police officer at the protest on behalf of hit-and-run victim Rafael Adana was indicted for attempted murder on Monday morning, the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office said.

Habatamo Asras, 23, of Holon allegedly planned in advance to kill an Israeli police officer at the August 23 protest march by the Israel-Ethiopian community in Tel Aviv, against perceived law enforcement and prosecutorial conduct of a hit-and-run driver who killed four-year-old Adana.

The indictment alleged that Asras had equipped himself with a kitchen knife and slipped it under his clothes. In the evening, the suspect reportedly pulled out the weapon, charged at an officer on a motorized scooter, and stabbed him in the back of the neck. The officer tried to flee from the assault, but Asras allegedly gave chase and tried to stab him again.

“Son of a b****, a******,” Asras reportedly said as he attacked the officer.

Asras reportedly slipped and fell, and the officer managed to get away. Aras was said to have discarded the knife. He then used the chaos of the demonstration to escape the crime scene. The officer was brought to the hospital and his wound was sutured with stitches.

A stabbing wasn't enough: What other crimes is he being charged with?

The indictment holds that Asras’s crimes did not end with the officer’s stabbing. On August 28 in Tel Aviv, Asras approached a woman and told her “Get down on your knees or I’ll stab you.” The indictment says that he may have meant to either scare or belittle the woman.

A passerby intervened and demanded the suspect leave her. Asras demanded the man also get down on his knees. Asras is accused of hitting the man with planks of wood, but the passerby took the boards, knocked Arsas to the ground, and restrained him. When he had calmed down, the passerby released him. Arsas then called the police threatening that he would kill the passerby.

When Asras lashed out at an elderly couple passing by, the man again intervened. The suspect smashed nearby bottles, took the broken glass, and attempted to stab the passerby with broken glass. He sad to remember his name, and that he would find him in the future. When police officers arrived, he insulted and threatened them too, yelling “Allah Akbar” in an attempt to frighten them.

“I will kill you and rape you, don’t worry, I won’t forget you,” the suspect allegedly told a policewoman.During the interrogation, he threatened more officers and exposed his genitals to two officers and a detective.

“This is a violent and dangerous respondent, who is practically a ‘ticking bomb,’ who uses violence against anyone who crosses his path,” said attorney Sivan Farkel. “Only by a miracle did he not cause the death of the policeman, whose stabbing was very close to a major blood artery in his neck.”