The family of a police lieutenant colonel who fired numerous gunshots into the air and inside his house, and was later killed by police commandos, asked police and public prosecutors to probe if the killing in Sai Mai district last week was an undue use of force.
Anuchit Thatsiao, the lawyer hired by the late Pol Lt Col Kittikarn Saengbun’s family, went to the Sai Mai police station on Monday to file the complaint.
The lawyer said the parents of the 51-year-old officer’s parents suspected police commandos overacted while ending the standoff, leading to his death, and the family wanted public prosecutors to join the police investigation into the incident to ensure justice.
“There were signs of shooting behind the house where inspector Karn (Pol Lt Col Kittikarn) fell from the second floor… There is the suspicion that guns were fired repeatedly before the arrest there,” the lawyer said.
“There were also signs of numerous gunshots inside the house and it looked like a hunt rather than shooting to subdue,” Mr Anuchit said.
The lawyer said that Pol Lt Col Kittikarn’s elder brother, also a police officer, asked commandos to wait for him to arrive so he could help calm down his brother. The elder brother was in Chiang Mai and his trip would take some time, the lawyer said, but commandos did not wait.
Mr Anuchit said the family would also file a similar complaint with the National Human Rights Commission.
Pol Maj Gen Somkhuan Phuengsap, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said that normally public prosecutors would take part in an investigation into an extrajudicial killing.
However, police would not be able to conclude the investigation within three days as the family demanded because there were many details in the case and the probe would be time-consuming, the deputy Bangkok police chief said.
On Tuesday last week, shots were heard at the house in Mankhong housing estate 1 on Soi Jeeramakorn in Sai Mai district around 11am. The disturbed police officer began firing shots into the air and inside his house on Tuesday during the day, overnight and after daylight on Wednesday – reportedly more than 50 shots in total.
Negotiations to calm the shooter down failed.