Chief of Albanian Police Ardi Veliu had the mother of the minor, whom he publicly smeared, visit his office in order for him to apologize after public backlash and calls for his dismissal.
Veliu posted pictures from the meeting on the State Police social media account, stating that “I wanted to make my public apology to the lady in person and I am glad for her understanding.”
On May 15, four police officers beat a 15-year-old boy up for violating government mandated quarantine hours.
In an attempt to justify police brutality on a minor, Veliu publicly showed a private video-recording of the boy’s mother holding an object in the shape of a firearm, claiming that the boy came from a bad family: “I am showing you this video so that you can judge what kind of family this kid comes from.”
The media revealed that the video-recording Veliu displayed in public was from the backstage of a movie, in which the mother, actress Zaida Cobo, played. It’s not clear yet how Veliu obtained the video-recording.
Following calls for his dismissal, Veliu then tried to defend himself, saying that his words were taken out of context, and that he just wanted to show the importance of family education on children.
Prime Minister Edi Rama also defended him, by saying that “it was a bad attempt to explain the family responsibility and its role in the well-being of the younger generation.”
The mother of the violated minor sued Veliu for defamation. He then had her visit his office on Sunday and post pics from the meeting online.
Local media reported that Zaida Cobo dropped her suit against the chief of Albania’s State Police.
