Two Mossos Charged After Shooting Tarragona Gunman

Is shooting an armed man who had already injured four people 17 times disproportionate?

The Spanish justice system has once again placed the use of police force at the center of the debate. A judge in Reus has decided to prosecute two agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra for neutralizing Marin Eugen Sabau, the gunman who stormed his former workplace in Securitas Direct on December 14, 2021, injured three workers, and subsequently barricaded himself in a farmhouse with abundant weaponry.

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The Facts and the Judicial Decision
That day, Sabau shot at his former colleagues, leaving three wounded by gunfire. He fled in his vehicle, was stopped by a patrol unit, and responded by opening fire on the officers. After a five-hour siege, two Mossos neutralized him with 17 shots. The investigating judge considers the action disproportionate and sends them to trial.

The Reaction: Proportionality or Helplessness?
The decision has caused an uproar. Many experts and police unions argue that the agents acted in self-defense: the individual was armed, wearing a bulletproof vest, had shot at several agents, and was barricaded. They argue that counting the shots without evaluating the actual situation is a mistake. Others, though in the minority, maintain that any police action must be examined under the principle of proportionality, even in extreme situations.

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The irony of the case is that the gunman cannot testify because he is dead, while the two Mossos face a incivil trial. If the court were to convict them, it would set a disturbing precedent: fulfilling one's duty could come at a high price. Spanish justice, once again, seems determined to balance on a tightrope.