Prosecutor Daniel Horodnicanu, in whose case the Section for Prosecutors of the CSM rejected on Wednesday the disciplinary responsibility of the Judicial Inspectorate after the scandal with the policemen who stopped him on the road, insists that he was the victim of “harassment” in that incident.

On Wednesday, the Prosecutors’ Division for Disciplinary Cases of the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) rejected the disciplinary action brought by the judicial inspectorate against prosecutor Daniel Horodničana, vice-president of the CSM and former head of DIICOT.

This happened after former DIICOT chief prosecutor Daniel Horodničana was stopped on the road by Iași police officers in May, after which he asked the law enforcement officers if they knew who he was and at the same time threatened to contact the Iași mayor. District police. Then the judicial inspectorate brought him to disciplinary responsibility for “aggressive, intimidating attitude that can put the interlocutors in a humiliating position”, since this is the first time that the judicial inspectorate examines a member of the CSM.

The decision of the Prosecutor’s Section of the Supreme Court of Ukraine is not final and may be appealed to the Supreme Court.

“A shortened processing of the incident was posted in the public space”

In a press release issued on Wednesday evening, Daniel Horodnichanu provides a number of “clarifications” in the context of the decision made by the prosecutor’s office.

Horodnicanu claims that he has a video recording of the moment when he is overtaking a special police car, which also shows the maneuvering signal. According to Horodnichan, the recording was examined by “an expert with international authority and authority.”

He also states that “what has been presented in the public space is a truncated and out-of-context treatment of the incident” and suggests “fraudulent intentions” by two police officers who, he says, “were not on a mission. legally, but in the case of persecution.”

“This behavior (of the police, no) caused my reaction,” says Horodnichanu, adding: “my experience should be enough not to succumb to any provocation.”

He also says that he will provide all the necessary details to support what he said after the final decision is made in this case.

Horodnichan’s statement:

• “1. I have a video of the car I was driving attempting to pass a police car with a signal to maneuver seconds before it was pulled over by the cops. The ultimate reason for my stop, cited by the cops and picked up by the media, was that I did not signal to overtake.
• The video recording of the overtaking signal was subjected to expert examination by an expert with international authority and credibility, the expert opinion was as stated above.
• 2. The video, broadcast 6 months ago on numerous media channels, was made fraudulently (using a personal device hidden in uniform) by police officers of the Iasi Rural Police and distributed in violation of the Law on Police and the Law on Protection of Personal Life. data However, what was presented in the public space is a truncated and out-of-context interpretation of the incident. The context to which I refer, and which I will continue to try to prove unequivocally, contains the evidence of fraudulent intent by two police officers who were not on a legitimate mission but engaged in a pursuit, and there were only two options in which he would have done so. They probably abandoned their original plan when they saw me get out of the car.
• 3. The fact that police officers go on night duty with an unloaded body camera (the presence of which is mandatory and in connection with the work of which they were obliged to provide when entering the service) and stop cars in motion under a proven false pretext is not signaling an overtaking maneuver gives me the right not to rule out any version, even an attempt to gain some advantage. As I said, I became aware of the signs of this behavior from the very beginning. Besides, this behavior provoked my reaction, my experience should be enough not to be challenged in any way. I hope that the current research will find out if I was wrong.
• Drivers, regardless of their social or professional status, must trust the Romanian police, but for trust to exist in real conditions, it is necessary that the intervention of the authorities is always in accordance with the law and proportionate to the act.
• The decision of the Prosecutor’s Office Section is not final. Once the decision is final, I will provide all the details necessary to confirm the above.”

VIDEO “Why don’t you know me?”

Daniel Horodnichan was stopped on the road by police officers from the commune of Iasi county on the grounds that he exceeded the speed limit and did not signal that he intended to overtake.

In a video released in the public domain, Daniel Horodnichanu is visibly disturbed by being stopped in traffic, asking one of the police officers if they know he is “Horodnichanu’s chief prosecutor for organized crime.” The policeman said that he did not know him, Horodnichanu asked him: “Why don’t you know me?”.

Horodnicanu was stopped on the road in the county of Iasi for overtaking without a proper signal and for driving at a speed exceeding the speed limit. The policeman replied that he was not fining him, but only demanding documents and wanted to draw his attention to the mistakes made on the road.

“I’m going to talk to the head of the IPJ,” Daniel Horodnicanu warned the policeman. Horodnichanu also said that he has been working as a prosecutor for 25 years and that he is known by all the police officers of Iasi County.

At the same time, Daniel Horodnicanu reminded the policeman that in 2016 he talked with the former minister Gabriel Opria so that the policemen would receive 15% more salary.

The full dialogue between Horodnichan and the policeman who stopped him:

• “Daniel Horodnicanu: Why did you stop me at this moment?
• Policeman: Because you overtook us…
• Daniel Horodnicanu: Am I not allowed to overtake you or something?
• Policeman: There is a limit of 50 km/h, and we were already driving at 70 km/h.
• Daniel Horodnicanu: Do you have a radar? I told you who I am.
• Policeman: Who are you?
• Daniel Horodnichanu: I am the chief prosecutor of Horodnichanu from organized crime. you do not know me?
• Policeman: Please show me the documents.
• Daniel Horodnicanu: But why don’t you know me? But where are you from? From Vaslui or from Iasi?
• Policeman: I’m Agent David from the 1st Village Police Department.
• Daniel Horodnicanu: From Yass?
• Policeman: Yes, give me the documents, please!
• Daniel Horodnicanu: I will show you my prosecutor’s certificate. But I ask you again, why did you stop me?
• Policeman: First of all, as I said, you outsmarted us…
• Daniel Horodnichanu: And?
• Daniel Horodnicanu: Stop this nonsense! You don’t know who you’re talking to. What are you doing at this hour? Patrolling the main street in the village? I am going to speak to the head of the IPJ.
• Policeman: Over the past two weeks, more than 6 cases of animal theft have been recorded in the district. For this reason…
• Daniel Horodnicanu: On the main street? You look for thieves in the field. Do I have to teach you how to do your job or something?
• Policeman: You can’t…
• Daniel Horodnicanu: I am very much, I was a prosecutor for 25 years. How long have you been working as a police officer? I can do anything! Because of me, you have 15% of your salary. I mean, for your benefit. I talked to Secretary Oprea in 2016 and you got 15%. I was 100% sure that if I passed you, you would stop me.
• Policeman: If you signaled…
• Daniel Horodničanu: I know the police, and especially this police, which is coming from behind. You know what surprises me? That you say you don’t know me. All the police in the county know me.”

The reaction of the former head of DIICOT

Horodnicanu reacted to the footage by saying that it was a “well-planned scene” and that the two police officers “pretended that we don’t know each other” to “provoke me.”

• “At first glance, for a neutral character, we are dealing with an on-duty policeman who resists the pressure of a prosecutor, correctly stopped in traffic. In reality, everything is different: I was stopped in a traffic jam at 1:30 in the morning by a crew of the village police, without violating traffic rules.
• I was a witness to a scene that was well orchestrated by two policemen who knew me. I found out today that this skit was also probably filmed with a hidden recording device, not a body camera. True, the images are processed, there are other passages in the film, however, they are cut. (…)
• The fact that they pretended not to know each other might have provoked me to this reaction again. I realize that I was in a difficult situation, but what is unfortunate, and I blame myself for it, is that I did not rise to the challenge and, against this emotional background, probably also combined with some personal problems, I reacted in this way in a way that it does not characterize me,” said Horodnichanu.

Read also: Prosecutor Daniel Horodnichana was stopped by the police in traffic last year when the radar detected him at a speed of 169 km/h / The decision of the first court after challenging the sanctions