Law-enforcement authorities will examine the video recording, but I believe the police officers’ actions were lawful. This is what Chief of Police of Armenia Arman Sargsyan said during a discussion on the report on the performance of the 2019 State Budget held as part of the joint session of parliamentary standing committees today, commenting on the video in which police officers are laying a man on the asphalt who had violated the anti-epidemic rules and hadn’t worn his face mask. According to him, the police officers had warned the man a couple of times to wear his face mask, but he had refused to obey the rules established by the Commandant for the state of emergency. Sargsyan added that anyone who refuses to obey police officers’ lawful demands and try to entangle police officers in ‘clarifications’ through sabotage will be punished.

The police chief also stressed that police officers will be held liable, if they use violence against people for no reason.