Paspampres: Viral Motorcyclist Kicked by Security Justified
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26 February 2021 21:16 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) intelligence assistant Lt. Col. Wisnu Herlambang confirmed that one security detail member stationed in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace had kicked a motorcycle rider that had entered a sterilized government property area dubbed as Ring 1.
Herlambang said this action had to be clarified as the footage taken by another motorcycle rider had gone viral.
However, he maintained that the action was legal under the current regulation and asserted that the motorcycle riders that entered the VVIP area around the Presidential Palace were in the wrong.
“That was only a kick, not hit. And actually, it was the most lenient action [we could do]. In fact, rules suggest that those breaking through VVIP areas should be shot and neutralized if they pose a threat,” said Wisnu to journalists on February 26.
The incident that went viral involves a group of sport motorcycle riders speeding into an area that was partially closed by orange roadblocks and were intercepted by Paspampres members who tried to stop them from speeding through. Instead of stopping, the motorcyclists attempted to flee by turning back in a one-way street, which led to one of the riders being kicked.
The street was located directly behind the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta.
Wisnu said that their actions made it justifiable for Paspampres to secure high-risk presidential areas. “We can’t be sure what their intentions are for breaking through [road barriers], whether to sabotage or something. So as a form of alertness we had to disable [the threat],” he said on February 26.
Read: Monas Blast; Pasmpamres: No Heightened Security at State Palace
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