Sapic Handed Over Two Glocks at 4.30, Police Say
Police say Belgrade's mayor was tested for alcohol and narcotics and no substances were found, while the Kreni-Promeni movement says the times in the paperwork do not match.
The Interior Ministry (MUP) on October 15 published its timeline of the night of September 28-29, when Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic spent hours at the Novi Beograd police station after a clash with city councillor Tatjana Micic. According to the ministry, Sapic was tested for alcohol and psychoactive substances at his own request, and handed over two Glock pistols at about 4.30 a.m. at his home address.
The Kreni-Promeni movement, which Micic represents, announced criminal complaints against police officers the same day. It says the time the weapons were taken in the ministry’s version does not match the police station’s official note.
What does the ministry say about the night of September 28-29?
According to the statement, the Novi Beograd police station received a call at 9.40 p.m. on September 28 saying a married couple had a problem with a man on Partizanske avijacije Street. Officers found Tatjana and Ilija Micic on one side, and Aleksandar Sapic and a person identified only by the initials R. T. on the other. The Micics told police they had been verbally and physically attacked by Sapic, while Sapic said they had attacked him verbally and physically.
Tatjana Micic complained of injuries at the scene and was examined by an emergency medical team. She was given a referral to a medical facility and, the ministry says, went there right after the examination, accompanied by her husband. At 11 p.m. Sapic was verbally summoned to the station under Article 81 of the Law on Police and, with his consent, driven to Milutina Milankovica Street as a private citizen to give information.
The ministry describes the rest of the night this way:
- officers of the Traffic Police Directorate carried out the alcohol and psychoactive substance tests, and no substances were found
- at 1.00 a.m. Sapic complained about his health and asked for an ambulance, which took him under police escort to the Emergency Center of the Clinical Center of Serbia
- after the examination he returned to the station, where he stayed until 4.30
- at about 4.30 a.m. on September 29 he voluntarily handed over two registered Glocks, for which he holds possession and carry permits, for temporary seizure in an administrative procedure
“Aleksandar Sapic did not have a firearm on him, nor any objects suitable for an attack,” the ministry said, adding that the “testing was carried out at the request of Aleksandar Sapic.”
The ministry also says the Micic couple did not answer the phone after the examination, although officers called several times and told them to come to the station at once. A patrol sent on the order of the on-duty public prosecutor got no answer at the door of their apartment. The Micics came to the station on September 30, when information was collected from them. Police, the statement says, acted throughout on instructions and in consultation with the on-duty prosecutor of the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade.
Why does Kreni-Promeni dispute the time the weapons were taken?
The movement claims the official note of the Novi Beograd police station records a different chronology from the one the ministry gave. In a statement it published on the evening of October 15, which Nova.rs carried at 11.30 p.m., it says:
“They still cannot explain how Sapic allegedly handed over the pistols at home at 4.30 in the morning, after leaving the police station, when the official note of that same MUP says the weapons were taken from Sapic around 1.00, while he was in the police station.”
The same statement says it took the ministry “three days to comment on Sapic, who was carrying two pistols,” and that they “finally returned to the original version, which even the Prosecutor’s Office abandoned.” The movement then announced: “We are filing criminal complaints against MUP members. After October 25, some less fearful prosecutors will handle them.” The statement does not name the officers the complaints target.
The Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade had earlier said, as reported, that the time the weapons were taken on the police receipt is not consistent with the chronology in the police report. It therefore opened a separate case to determine whether the officers’ conduct contains elements of a criminal offense. Sapic has denied hitting the councillor.
