All eyes are on the Nafplio Court House this Friday, July 10, as the two OPKE special police officers from Argolis who were arrested in connection with the shooting following a cinematic high-speed chase in Argos are set to appear before the examining magistrate. According to reports, the first officer is scheduled to enter the magistrate’s office at 11:00 a.m., while the second is expected at noon.
Read also: Argos: Two police officers to appear before magistrate on Friday, July 10 over shooting of 20-year-old
The two uniformed officers are expected to insist that they “did not fire directly at the 20-year-old,” but instead fired “warning shots into the air,” claiming they did not have a visual line of sight to the suspect at the time. However, they will be pressed to answer a critical question: why did they choose to discharge their service weapons at that particular moment during the chase? According to the evidence gathered so far, there is no indication that the circumstances met the legal threshold for self-defense or the lawful use of a firearm.
It is worth recalling that, based on current evidence, the young man allegedly attempted to ram officers on foot — as well as police patrol cars — both when the stop signal was first issued and again when his vehicle was boxed in. However, both of these incidents occurred well before the fatal moment when the shots were fired.
Ballistics will be the deciding factor
The ballistics expert report is expected to play a pivotal role in the case. It will attempt to determine the trajectory of the bullets, the positions of the officers, their distance from the 20-year-old, and whether the shots were genuinely fired into the air or were directed at him. Under forensic examination are the 13 shell casings recovered at the scene, as well as bullet holes found in the perimeter wall of an abandoned building where the young man attempted to climb and escape.
Sources at parapolitika.gr, however, have expressed some doubts about what actually took place in front of that wall. On one hand, it is argued that attempting to scale a wall at that particular location during a foot chase makes little logical sense. On the other, it is noted that not all of the holes may necessarily be bullet impacts, given that the wall is part of an extremely old and deteriorated structure. In any case, all of these holes have been examined by forensic laboratory specialists.
Of particular interest is also the examination of the bullet and the fragments found in the 20-year-old’s head. According to information from the medical investigation, brain imaging reportedly revealed two wounds caused by bullet fragments — a finding being assessed alongside the impact marks on the wall. It is telling that sources with knowledge of the medical situation indicate the 20-year-old suffered serious injuries from fragments, and it remains unclear whether he was also struck by a full, intact bullet.
The 35-minute chase through Argos
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Wednesday, when OPKE officers attempted to carry out a vehicle check in the Pyrghela area of Argos. The 20-year-old driver ignored the stop signal, accelerated to high speed and, according to police, attempted to run over officers who were standing outside their patrol cars, before ramming into police vehicles. The chase lasted approximately 35 minutes, during which the young man ran stop signs and red lights, drove into oncoming traffic, and passed through Pyrghela, Argos, Elliniko, the Airport, Stathaika, and Monastiraki in quick succession.
At some point during his flight, near the location where the initial stop was attempted, he threw an object from the car, which turned out to be an air pistol. The weapon was seized and sent to the Criminal Investigation Division for laboratory examination. It is also noted that two officers from the Crimes Against Life Unit of the Organized Crime Division are assisting in the investigation. The chase ended in a supermarket car park, where the vehicle was boxed in. The 20-year-old abandoned his car and attempted to flee on foot, climbing over the wall of an abandoned building — at which point the shots were fired.
Dilated pupils raising grave concerns
The young man was initially transferred to Argos Hospital and then to Thriasio Hospital, before being moved to KAT trauma center. The transfers took place under heavy police escort. According to parapolitika.gr sources, the 20-year-old’s mother — a woman of Russian origin and the registered owner of the vehicle he was driving that night — was also present throughout. Despite surgery, doctors were unable to remove the foreign bodies from his head. According to the latest reports, the 20-year-old is exhibiting mydriasis — fixed, dilated pupils — which may indicate severely diminished brain and neurological function. Doctors are fighting to keep him alive in the ICU at KAT.
It should be noted that the 20-year-old was born and raised in Greece, and his father is also of Greek origin. His mother is reportedly in a poor psychological state and has been summoned to give a statement. On the orders of the prosecutor’s office, both officers were arrested under the flagrante delicto procedure. An Internal Administrative Inquiry (EDE) has also been ordered to fully investigate the circumstances under which their service weapons were used. The results of the ballistics examination are expected to be the most critical piece of evidence as the case moves forward.
For the record, it is noted that the 20-year-old had at least one prior encounter with authorities, having previously been arrested for a weapons law violation and impersonating a police officer. At the time, he was found in possession of brass knuckles, a baton, and a police emergency light.
