An American woman, resident in Albania, has complained of being assaulted by an employee of a construction company and then told by the police that it is not a crime.
Shawn Simons, resident and business owner in Saranda, explained that following a dispute with a contractor, she was violently shaken by one of the company’s employees.
“I was in a business meeting with a construction company that we had fired. We always paid them on time, but they had failed to file papers, and we were there to get them signed. There was a disagreement, and I got up to grab the papers,” she explained.
She said one of the employees—a partner in the company who is also employed at the Saranda branch of the Ministry of Culture and Monuments—lunged across the table, grabbed her by the arms and started shaking and pulling her.
Her husband intervened and stood between them to prevent the man from attacking her again.
“I am sore. I am a bit shook up,” she said, noting that the aches in her body, particularly her neck and back, were similar to those following a car accident. While she said the attack was not extreme, it was assault, and as a survivor of previous violent abuse, it has caused significant distress.
Simons went to the police station in Saranda to file a complaint, noting that her hands were shaking when it came to writing her name. The police made her return to the office with them while they picked up the individuals present in the meeting, including her assailant. When back at the station, they were told to wait for a “specialist”.
Upon the arrival of the police ‘specialist’, Simons said she was told that the assault against her was “not a crime”. She queried whether the assault was against the law and was again told, “it is not a crime” but rather a “conflict”.
The police told her they would keep the assailant for 10 hours. She asked to make a written statement at which point the police said they would bring the suspect into the same room as he so he could make his statement, to which Simons refused.
She told Exit that despite there being witnesses to the assault, the police did not take their statements.
The police then told her that the suspect would be kept in custody for 10 hours and once released, would not be allowed within 500 metres of her. “Five minutes later”, when she was in a café, she saw the suspect walking down the street laughing, accompanied by his father.
Simmons told Exit that following the making of her statement, she will pursue the matter further.
Exit has contacted a police spokesperson for comment but no answer was provided at the time of publication.
