Police Disguised as People Units

Law enforcers tend not to talk about their slight fear of units of Self-Defense. They are just as much afraid of them as of patrolling the streets because of the rampant crime. Sure they are! Today, in every police office, they are talking about three of their fellows who were shot by strangers on the 2^nd of March 2 on Brovarskaya Trassa (PPC Bykivnia). By assault rifles. Straight away. To take their service weapons. They still cannot forget another serious crime – cops shot on the Simirenko Ulitsa in Kiev. That’s why the metropolitan police are forced not only to cooperate with people’s units, but also to sometimes work, disguised as them.

The administration of the Solomianka district, Kiev, 6 PM. Officials are going home, and about 20 men are gathering in the boardroom: every night since the 22^nd of February, Self-Defense member have been holding meetings with the police. That night, for example, there are representatives of the department of public security of the Solomianka Office of Internal Affairs in the hall (the police of the Holosiiv district have built similar relations with units of the Maidan). They are discussing the balance of power, which routes they should search first of all, which precincts should be open at night... Some Self-Defense members have firearms, but the police do not ask too many questions.

“Yeah, it’s no longer safe for these guys to go out,” says Irina Levchenko, speaker of the Solomianka Office of Internal Affairs in Kiev. “But they should perform their duties. That’s why, when Self-Defense appeared in this district, we began out close cooperation. They patrol the routes with our units. In case of conflicts, they can act as a buffer between dissatisfied citizens and the police. In addition, they are very helpful in identifying who are the Maidan activists and who are criminals.”

“Who have you detained by joint forces?”

“Hijackers, for example. There are no longer any robberies in the district. And whether it’s by our joint efforts or by self-organized residents, but the number of street crimes throughout the district has drastically decreased. Those are car theft, theft from vehicles... There was only one robbery last week, but before that (until mid-February. – Reporter), we registered one or two every night because we have a train station here, with “touring” criminals. By the 20^th of February, over 10 cars were burned, now there is none.”

“And what actually happened a few days ago, when there was street shooting?”

“In the evening of the 25^th of February we received a call and they were saying there was a crowd of armed people and they heard gunshots. First of all, we reported this to Self-Defense and went to the scene. We found several cars there, with bullet holes and no license plates, supposedly from Yanukovych’s convoy. Our staff found a couple of sleeves. We are now investigating who these guys are: Self-Defense members, who detained the convoy, or criminals, who shot cars of civilians.”

The last sentence of the speaker sounds painful. But then she receives a call on her cell phone, and I unwittingly hear that the Maidan units have returned the stolen weapons to the State Security Service…

“On the way back, they took the weapons of the State Security Service officers,” Irina Levchenko explains to me, hanging up. “The 8^th group of Afghans of Self-Defense units of the Maidan, together with CID, has found those weapons. And returned them to the guys. I don’t know the details, you know I’ve just received the information.”

And I understand that it’s not the right time for provocative questions to ordinary police officers who are trying to get over it and do their job.